My Belle
by Mango Trickset
Summary: A MaxOC fic. Dropped bombs in Vietnam are bad, but dropped bombs from former girl friends are even worse...She gave him an odd look. “Have I ever told you you have really blue eyes?” she asked, still staring at him. He sighed. “Only like a million times.”
1. Epiphany at the Grocery Store

**My Belle  
****Chapter One  
****Epiphany at the Grocery Store  
**"**Maybe one day I can have a reunion with myself."-Sebastian Bach**

"Go get us some groceries, Max."

Although this little command had come from his younger sister, Max had no choice but to oblige with it despite how much his pride was dying inside. Turns out, much to no surprise, being a taxi driver didn't exactly pay the bills or the needed cigarette money. So in the months following Lucy and Jude's reunion, Max had decided to bunk in with them in their new apartment until he found the money to live somewhere better. He figured it needed to be real soon because he could no longer stand his sister telling him what to do. Nor did he ever.

He gritted his teeth, holding back the stream of retorts threatening to spill out of his mouth, as he snatched the wad of bills from his sister's outstretched hand.

"Why do I have to do it?" he muttered out loud, knowing full well the answer.

"Because last time I checked, _we_ paid the rent," Jude tittered from his spot at the kitchen table, his pencil flying over his sketch pad.

Max made a face at him from behind his back immaturely trying to vent his frustration in a safe and peaceful way.

Lucy giggled loudly as she fell into the seat next to Jude and hugged him close. Suddenly, Jude caught the laughing bug and the two were in complete hysterics in a matter of moments. Max just stared at them silently. It was like they had decided to smoke some hemp a couple of minutes beforehand, the way they were acting. Max wouldn't have been surprised. Everyone did it.

He grumbled something inaudible over his roomies' mirth as he put on his coat and hat. With one last disgusted look thrown in their direction, he exited the apartment with a slam to the door.

* * *

It's difficult to look cool and attractive when you're driving a checkered taxi around New York. It's even more difficult to pick up a girl when you needed a fix and even pot won't take away the irritation of your current situation. Max had been female free for weeks now and he couldn't stand it. What happened to that time when girls used to throw themselves at him for a quickie? Was it true what Jude had said? Had his scent dried up? Was his aura no longer eye-catching? Of course Jude had been joking, merely poking his friend at his lowest point, but it hurt Max nonetheless. He had hoped that maybe the new mustache would grab a broad's attention, but so far the farthest he's gone was a look from across the room and that was it. Completely no action. It was killing him slowly. If he didn't get it soon, he didn't know what he would do.

He pulled into the nearest grocer, picked out a suitable shopping cart, and began meandering his way through the aisles. He cursed to himself when he realized Lucy hadn't provided him with a list. No doubt she'd scold him on his stupidity once he got home. He swore she sounded like their mother more and more everyday. It made him cringe. So, he decided to just choose all the food _he_ thought was necessary. This included all and every type of junk food. What else did a single bachelor need? And if he didn't get any broccoli like Lucy usually asked, she wouldn't be able to badger him about not getting enough of his greens. It would save a lot more tension and an unneeded sibling battle between the two of them.

As he trooped up and down the store, shoving his "essentials" into the cart as he went, he eventually noticed that there were a lot more females about. What a great opportunity for him! A chance to talk one up without his ugly taxi sitting in the background. He figured he would get them hooked so deep that when they actually noticed his ride, they would be too far in to back out. He mentally congratulated himself on his plan, making a note to indulge himself later.

He turned into the canned section and found his perfect chance. At the far end a lone girl was standing, examining some soups. Max smirked and began to walk nonchalantly, looking everywhere but her. As he neared her, he noted that she looked eerily exotic. Her tan skin glowed against the store's lights, her lips pouted perfectly as her eyes searched the titles, and her black hair was hidden into a large white woven paperboy hat. She seemed not to notice him until they were a few feet within each other. When her eyes turned to look his way, he caught them with his own. He gave her a small smile, looking her up and down with excitement, taking in her beautiful curves. Man, would she be perfect. But instead of a seductive look he was aiming for, she gave him one mixed with contempt, confusion, and was it amusement? He passed her slowly, still keeping the eye contact as he turned once more into the next aisle. Well, he had missed his opportunity on that one, but he didn't feel like giving up. His confidence had sky rocketed and he felt like he should try his tactic one more time. Besides, he couldn't win them all.

He was now in the frozen section next to the meat. The curls of coldness were floating toward him and he was eager to get out of there. As he quickly zipped past the plastic chilled packages, his mind wandered back to that girl he had tried to eye up in the last aisle. He had a weird sense of déjà vu; like he had seen that face before. But he just couldn't place it.

Then he stopped short, his cart making a squeak on the tiled floor. A shopper behind him ran into his back, but he hardly noticed. Max's mouth hung open at his sudden epiphany.

_Holy shit._

He raced back down the aisle, retracing his path until his returned once more to the canned section. His chest was heaving with exhilaration. Could it be her? It was possible wasn't it?

But his heart sunk as he saw that the aisle was empty. He had failed to catch her. She was probably long gone by now. Disappearing into the vastness that was NYC. He sighed sadly. He was right; he'd never get them all, this one the least. He maneuvered his cart around and jumped as he was met face to face with the canned section girl.

"Max?" she asked, her expression matching his. It was one of nervousness and relief all at the same time.

Max took a deep breath. "Michelle?"

The girl's face broke into a smile. "Ohmy—it _is_ you!"


	2. Breaking up is Hard to Do

A/N: Hello, readers! Figured it's bout good time to have my first author's note. Yay for me! 'Course you can always skip over this and get right into the chapter, do as you wish. Anyway, this is my first time posting a fanfiction and I hope it does well. I live off reviews, so send them in! I love reading feedback. I also have an account on fictionpress, just replace "Trickset" with "Smoothie" and that's meh name. Check that out if you ever find the time

Now, onto the real point of this. I just wanted to explain that in the chapter it refers to a place, Evelyn, that's an all girls college. Princeton's sister school. Now I _know_ that it had already closed down before this time, I checked it up on wiki, but I just needed a place to put Michelle. So if you have some problem with me twisting reality around a little, little bit, sorry. Just wanted to put that out there before I start getting complaints.

I also do not own Across the Universe, any of it's characters, or the Beatles. The song used in this chapter is "In My Life" by the Beatles. Though one of my favorites, I do not own that either. I do own Michelle, she is fully mine, so no stealing por favor. And soon John will make an appearance, so no stealing him either. Thank you!

Now that's over and done with, have fun reading!

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Two  
****Breaking up is Hard to Do, but This Is Way Harder  
**"**Saying goodbye doesn't mean anything. It's the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it."-** **Trey Parker**

The last time Max could remember speaking to her was years ago, when he had returned to Princeton to retrieve his things and say goodbye. It was more complicated than he had first thought. On the drive back from his hometown with Jude after Thanksgiving, he had imagined himself packing up with a huge grin on his face, waving farewell to all his buddies, and hopping in the car to get out of the dump. But the one thing he hadn't remembered was Michelle, which posed a huge problem. So huge in fact that Max had to take a couple of days to collect his thoughts and form a plan to approach her. She wouldn't be happy, he knew that from the beginning, but somehow he hoped that she'd understand.

On his ride down to Evelyn, Max kept a very stern face on, his mouth tight and unmoving, and his blue eyes staying firmly on the road. Jude watched him with interest. In the short span of time he had known Max, he had never seen him like this. Apparently this girl was someone serious.

They arrived at Evelyn in record time due to Max's heavy foot on the gas and they parked on the street facing the school.

Max checked his wristwatch. "She should be out soon."

"You want me to take a walk?" Jude offered.

Max nodded. "Yeah, I think it's better if I'm alone."

Jude was taken aback at first. He hadn't thought that Max would actually accept, but he complied. He jumped out of the car and walked down the sidewalk, head down, hands in pockets. Max watched him until he turned the corner, then slowly relaxed. He let out the breath he was holding. He still wasn't ready to do this.

The bell soon rang and the campus came to life. Streams of women spewed from the college's doorways and walls, their hands full of books, smiles plastered onto the make-up'ed faces, making their way at a leisurely pace to wherever they needed to be next. Max vaulted over the side of the car and leaned against the passenger side door, trying to look cool and relaxed, when in reality he was everything but.

He spotted Michelle almost immediately, which wasn't hard since she was wearing one of her signature paperboy hats. Her black hair was once again pulled into the cap, creating the illusion of masculinity which clashed with the skirt she was currently wearing. She was chatting with her large chested friend, Clarissa, whom Max had bagged early on in his college career. But in his opinion, she was nothing compared to Michelle, which really said something.

She stopped short upon seeing him and his car. She said something quick to Clarissa before power walking in Max's direction. Clarissa shot a look of hate towards her friend's back, and then stalked off in a huff of brown hair.

"Hey!" Michelle called, beaming.

Max couldn't help but smile back, albeit it was a small one. "Hey," he replied calmly.

She reached him and he pulled her into him. His arms wrapped around her waist and his face descended towards hers until they were almost touching.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, rocking her body with his.

"I have to talk to you."

Her smile faltered. "What's wrong?"

Max took another deep breath. It was now or never. He had to take the plunge. "I'm leaving, Michelle."

She immediately let go of him, but he held onto her; keeping his arms slithered around hers.

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

He sighed, staring over the top of her head towards the building, the other girls, the grass, and the crumpled up dead leaves sprawled all over. Why did it have to be so hard? Why with her?

"I mean," he started. "I'm leaving Princeton; New Jersey; this entire place."

"Why?" she asked, still not fully taking it in.

"Because I don't fit in here," he told her. "I never did, everyone knew it. They just figured that maybe I'd change. Turn into my father I guess, become a lawyer, settle down, and have the perfect little family. Michelle, you _know_ I can't do that."

"But you can't leave," she argued with her soft conviction. "People'll miss you. _I'll_ miss you."

And this was the worst part of all because Max Carrigan wasn't supposed to feel this attachment. He never felt attachment to any girl, but with Michelle it was always different, because _she_ was different. He regretted ever finding interest in her at all. He wondered now why he had wanted her so bad when it was obvious she wanted nothing to do with him. He should've quit while he was ahead. He wasn't cut out for long term relationships, and this was what it had escalated to. He couldn't help but feel responsible.

With a shuddering intake of breath and with immense pain he said as naturally as he could, "C'mon, Michelle, you didn't think this would last forever, did you?"

And that's when he saw her break. Her soft brown eyes hardened. Her sad expression turned to one of bitterness and disgust. She instantly pulled herself completely from him, placing a good amount of space between their bodies.

She shook her head. "Yeah, I know, but I intended to hold onto it as long as I could."

He sighed.

For the first time during the course of the conversation, she averted her gaze from his. She looked pained.

"Atleast tell me where you're going. Maybe I could look you up," she said coldly.

"New York City."

"That's a big place."

He attempted to smile and said amiably, "You're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

She continued to look away. He watched as a single tear marred her face as it left a trail down her cheek. He could feel the heat rising in his own face. What had he done?

"C'mon, don't do that," he tried to say comfortingly. He reached out for her hand but missed. "We'll see each other again."

She returned his glance, her eyes glassed over, her tears threatening to spill over. "Is that what you tell all the other girls?" she asked her voice breaking.

All of a sudden, he pulled her close to him, their bodies almost one. This caught her by surprise leaving her fully vulnerable. She let out a quivering breath into his shoulder where her face was dug into. She didn't want to fall to pieces in front of him. He didn't need that satisfaction from her.

He pulled in closer to her ear, his face rubbing against her soft hat. He began to sing a small song to her,

"_But of all these friends and lovers,  
__There is no one compares with you.  
__And these memories lose their meaning  
__When I think of love as something new.  
__Though I know I'll never lose affection  
__For people and things that went before.  
__I know I'll often stop and think about them,  
__In my life I love you more._"

But before he could finish, she abruptly pulled back from him obviously getting over her initial sadness for now she look extremely tired and angry. She slowly began to walk backwards and away from him.

"Michelle," he murmured helplessly.

"Goodbye, Max," she muttered in distaste. "Good luck with the rest of your life."

And like that, she walked out of his life.

* * *

And just like that, she walked right back in.

They stood awkwardly in the market as the rest of the world passed by them at a normal pace, while they stood in seemingly slow motion. Neither knew what to say. It wasn't like they had expected to see each other again. Their parting was a difficult one for each, though neither was willing to admit it.

Max had secretly hoped that it was her despite all the odds stacked against him. How lucky (or unlucky) was he to meet his old girlfriend years after their tragic break up in the city he had left her for? She had told him that she'd look him up, but he never actually figured she would. He would've liked to think that she had moved onto someone better; off to someone that would make her happy and she'd forget about him. Michelle and Max's paths would never intersect. They were bound to go off in two different directions.

But obviously fate had something else in store for them for there they were.

Max suddenly felt disappointed in himself at his earlier thoughts. Thinking sexually about her seemed so dirty and _wrong_, regardless of their former intimacy. It was different now. He had wanted to catch her, but he hadn't thought farther than that. So now he was stuck in an increasingly awkward silence. Well, what could he say? Sorry? Definitely not.

"Wow," she finally said, peering in to his deep blue eyes. "I haven't seen you since…ummm—"

"Princeton," he finished for her.

She nodded smiling. "Yeah. And you grew a mustache."

He nodded as well, easing up. He beamed at her comfortably. "Yeah, you like it?" He stroked his poof of hair affectionately.

She continued to smile despite her reply. "No, actually. You looked better without it."

Her bluntness had thrown him off and his smile immediately fell. He coughed uneasily, not really sure what to say to that.

"So," he began. "You live here now?"

"Yeah," she said. "I live in a tiny apartment across from one of my friends."

"Clarissa?" Max asked a little too eagerly.

Michelle shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to that girl in years. Which I think is for the better."

"Yeah," he agreed. "She had a lot of say over you."

She smirked coyly. "So did you."

Max swallowed. That he had.

He watched as she sauntered past him down into the canned aisle again. She turned her head back, probably expecting him to follow her. He immediately pushed his cart up beside her, catching up to her pace. She seemed to not want to leave him so soon, but at the same time she was avoiding his gaze, opting instead to look at all the piled cans that loomed over them.

"So you and Clarissa broke it off?" Max asked just making an attempt at a decent conversation.

Michelle nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I realized that she really wasn't the kind of person I wanted to be friends with. It's funny, but something tells me I should've stopped our friendship long before that. I don't know, it just wasn't healthy to be around someone like her."

"Good for you," Max said. He remembered one of the many times he had gotten Clarissa in bed. She was a little too feisty for him, but that didn't stop him or her apparently. It sounded as if Clarissa was a little bit addicting to both of them. "So how was it after…you know…"

"Well, I dropped out shortly after you did."

For the second time that day, Max made a complete stop. He was half expecting someone to run into him again, but they had the entire aisle all to themselves.

"_What_?"

Michelle was full of surprises but this was the last thing he had ever expected.

She nodded confirming his fears. "Just some…technicalities." She locked onto his eyes. He took this short opportunity to try and read her. He assumed that she didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't feel it right of him to push the subject.

"What'd your parents say?"

She chuckled ominously. "They were devastated. Practically disowned me, you could imagine how they are. Eh, it was bad at first, but I got over it."

"You make it sound so easy," Max said, beginning to walk again.

"I've learned from experience that it makes things less of a burden if you laugh them off," she replied, a trace of a smile still on her lips.

"What'd you do after that?"

"Well, I moved here, didn't I?" she said. "One of my close friends from high school took me in, helped out a bit financially until I became stable. Now I take an odd job or two. You know, to get by."

Why was it that her story seemed to get worse and worse? The Michelle he had once known was ambitious, intelligent, and had firm plans for her future. Why had that all gone down the drain so quickly after he had made his departure? He was genuinely curious and hesitant at the same time. He hoped it had nothing to do with him, because if it had, he couldn't imagine how much guilt he would feel. Him be the reason Michelle was now living on the rocks? He didn't know whether he could take that realization.

"It's weird we haven't seen each other until now," he murmured.

"It's a big city, remember?" she reminded him.

He looked up instantly, wondering if she had returned to the furious girl he had left behind that fateful afternoon, but found that she looked perfectly calm.

He felt like he owed her something, though he wasn't sure what. "You wanna come over for a bit?"

She shrugged. "You don't have to do that. I mean, I don't want to be a bother—"

"No! You wouldn't be!" he assured her. He abandoned his cart as he led her out of the grocery store.

He zoned in on his vehicle when he heard a snicker resound from behind him. He turned to see Michelle smirking arrogantly.

"You drive a taxi?" she snorted.

He was tempted to rub her own misfortunes in her face, but it felt it ungentleman like so he chose to remain quiet and accept the jab. It was the least he could do.


	3. Meeting Michelle

A/N: Hello, readers! Wow, I've made it all the way to Chapter Three without a glitch. I consider that a great achievement. Thanks for the review, Bookish, your feedback is much appreciated. And thank you to those who have added me on their alerts. It's always nice to know that people enjoy my work. But what's been bothering me is the fact that I notice all the hits I've been getting, yet there is only one review! Now, I'm not forcing you to review, because I'm cool like that, but I'd absolutely love it if you did. And o'course you'd get mentioned in my Author's Note. That's always a perk. Okay, enough with me talking. Here's the chapter, enjoy.

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Three  
****Meeting Michelle  
**"**It is only at the first encounter that a face makes its full impression on us."-** **Arthur Schopenhauer**

Lucy stared at the clock madly as if it was the reason her idiot of a brother was taking so long with the groceries. Living with two guys was more difficult than she had imagined. Back when they were all staying with Sadie, she atleast had Prudence and Sadie to talk to. And every now and then the place would be crowded with other women she could hold decent conversations with. Take it, they were usually high or drunk and they're intentions were usually sexual, but it was someone. Now it was just Jude, Max, and her, and she couldn't feel anymore lonelier. Not that Jude didn't satisfy her, she firmly believed that he did enough of that, but sometimes it was just nice to have a female around to just speak with. She longed for the days back in high school when her best friend was just a phone call away and bike ride around the corner.

"Where is he?" she muttered.

"Being a bit paranoid, are we?" Jude said from his perch by the window. "Max is a big boy, Lucy, I'm sure he's fine."

"But I'm hungry and all the food's gone," she hissed, crossing and uncrossing her arms. "Maybe if you two listened for once we would have some left over."

"Just some of the perks that come with living with us," Jude smiled.

Lucy sighed. How could she get mad at that? Her brother on the other hand…

As if on cue, Max entered the apartment looking a little frazzled but otherwise all right.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jude asked.

Max's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before an actual answer came out. "Ummm, well, you see, I kinda—"

"Where are the groceries?" Lucy demanded, searching around him for any trace of them. "You didn't waste our money on cigarettes, did you? I worked hard for that—!"

"No, no, _no_! 'Course I didn't, it's just that, well there's this—"

"Max, how hard is it do what I ask for once?" Lucy asked, her voice rising. "All I wanted were some groceries. That's it! That's all I ever ask of you and you manage to screw it up! God, you're so untrustwor—!"

Suddenly a head poked through the doorway. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Jude cocked his head from his seat as he examined the head. "Michelle?"

The girl fully revealed herself by sliding herself into the doorway. She beamed at Jude. "Wow, he recognized me quicker than you did."

"What's going on?" Lucy queried not liking the fact she was the only one out of the know. "Who are you and how do you know Jude?"

"I don't really _know_ her," Jude began, finally standing up and walking towards the group.

"Oh my—! _It was a one night thing_?!

"No!" everyone said in unison.

"Then would someone please explain?" Lucy pleaded.

"Maybe if you gave us time to respond," Max mumbled. But before Lucy could begin again, he started. "Lucy, this is Michelle, we were friends back in college."

"Oh," Lucy breathed in relief. She extended a hand politely. "I'm sorry 'bout all that, you just never know with Max. I'm sure you understand."

Michelle took Lucy's hand gratefully and nodded fervently.

"And we had met briefly," Jude finished, nodding his head at Michelle.

Lucy wiped her sweating hands on her jeans. "Wow, I apologize for all of that. It was really rude of me." She gestured towards the kitchen table. "Please, have a seat."

"Ummm, thanks?" Michelle replied, smiling in spite of herself at Lucy's drastic emotional change. She took a seat gladly and stared up at the rest of them. It felt a little awkward to be the only one sitting down and she hoped that someone would soon join her. She gazed around the small, cozy apartment. It reminded her so much of her own, minus one vital thing. She swallowed loudly and her eyes turned towards Max who was busy jabbering away to Lucy. He was saying something about how he got side-tracked, before he handed her a wad of bills. She took it and shoved it in her pants pocket before heading to the stove. Michelle watched in fascination as her long blonde hair flipped. It was so pretty.

A sudden form appearing in her peripheral vision interrupted her thoughts. Jude had taken the next seat over and was looking her over as if he wanted to say something.

"Yes?" she offered.

"Oh, nothing, I was just," he stopped short. "You seem different."

"Different?" she repeated. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"I don't know," he responded vaguely.

Lucy placed a mug of hot tea in front of Michelle and ran off back to the stove before Michelle could say thank you. "Are you hungry? What do you want? We don't really have anything since Max didn't get the groceries, but I think we have a couple of eggs left."

Max rolled his eyes. "If it's that much of a problem, I can run out right now."

"No," Lucy replied firmly, breaking two eggs into a pan. It sizzled loudly and a pleasant smell overcame the room. "You have a guest here."

"You don't mind, do you?" Max addressed Michelle.

Michelle didn't seem to know the answer, so she opted for a shrug instead.

"See! I'll be out and in," Upon realizing what he had just said, he stopped and chuckled for a bit. Jude joined in as well and Michelle cracked a smile. Lucy was the only one who kept her disapproving scowl.

"You should've done that last time," she reminded him. She moved the eggs onto a plate and gave them to Michelle. As she herself took a seat, she stared longingly at Michelle's hot plate as the girl dug into the eggs. She then sent an angry look in Max's direction.

"I'm assuming you have good eyes," Michelle said after gulping down a large portion. She looked over towards Jude expectantly.

"Why would you say that?" he asked.

"We only met once and it seems like you know all about me," she explained.

"In all fairness, it was a long trip down from Princeton," Jude smiled.

* * *

"I thought we were going to your house," Jude asked as he looked at his surroundings. Max's convertible made it possible for him to see in all directions, taking in everything all at once. He had only been in America for a short period of time and yet he still knew this wasn't the right way. He guessed it was his intuition.

"We are," Max replied. "We just have to make a quick stop."

"Where?"

"I have to pick someone up."

"You didn't mention anyone," Jude pointed out.

"Yeah, well it was sort of last minute notice and to be honest, I can't say no to her."

"So it's a girl?"

Max didn't reply, though a small smirk crossed his lips.

A few minutes later they arrived in front of another college campus structure that resembled Princeton in some ways but was considerably smaller. Wrought iron gates enclosed the campus from the outside as if the world would somehow contaminate its innocence. In some ways, one could say that it did.

"What's this?" Jude asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"This is Evelyn, Princeton's sister school," Max answered.

"Who exactly are we supposed to be waiting for?" Jude turned in his seat to search the abandoned street.

Max didn't answer again. Jude watched as he exited the car and stood solely on the street as if he was someone special. Jude rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand why you're being so secretive," he muttered.

After a few moments of waiting, Max suddenly straightened up, catching Jude's attention. Jude followed Max's gaze and squinted at the figure coming towards them. "That her?"

Max nodded. "Oh, yeah."

The girl reached the gates and exited through a side passage. She was hauling along a couple suitcases filled with stuff, Jude assumed, because she seemed to be having a lot of trouble rolling them along. Max ran up to her and carried the belongings himself, throwing them into the backseat. Once he was free, he turned to her, embracing her in his arms. Jude didn't feel it was right of him to watch, so he turned and focused on the dashboard as he heard murmurings and giggling.

"Michelle, this is Jude, he just came over from England," Max said finally after their greetings had finished.

They shook hands and Jude noticed the brown plaid paperboy hat she was wearing matched her clothes. Her hair was pulled into it so her neck and face were clear and free. It seemed like an intelligent choice for she had a unique look about her.

"England, really?" she said, her white teeth flashing. "What brings you here?"

"Long story."

"I've got all the time in the world," she replied, sliding into the backseat behind him.

* * *

The car stopped in front of a tiny brick house surrounded by arching trees that created a look that said fulfillment. As the wind blew, the trees' branches billowed in response and colorful leaves were picked off one by one. They were lifted momentarily into the air until they wafted slowly to the ground. Jude made a mental note to remember every little detail for a sketch later.

"Well, this is me," Michelle announced.

"What'd your parents say about me driving you here?" Max asked, staring at the house.

"Let's just say they would've rather preferred me to stay with Clarissa," Michelle grinned.

"Oooh, ouch," Max breathed, making a hurt face.

Michelle laughed as she pecked him on the cheek. She began to unload her things independently seeing that Max was too petrified by the looming structure to get out of the car. "They'll drive me up when break's over. So I'll see you then?"

Max nodded mutely, his eyes still on the house.

"It's not gonna' eat you," she tittered walking up beside him.

"It's not the house I'm worried about, but the people _inside_ it."

"You act as if my parents are Satan!"

"Satan's one person, you have two parents; it's worse."

She shoved his shoulder. "Oh, shut up."

He looked over to her, smiling sweetly. "One for the road?"

She bent down to level with his face. She said softly, "You don't deserve one after that comment." But regardless, she kissed him anyway. After that was over, leaving Max in a state of giddiness, Michelle went over to Jude's side. "It was nice meeting you, Jude. Hope to see you again when we get back."

"Likewise," Jude replied, waving.

They watched as she disappeared into the house and stayed there for a bit quietly.

"I'm assuming she's more than just one of your flings," Jude said.

Max sighed. "Way more." He turned his key and began to drive away. "Man, I love Thanksgiving."

* * *

Jude wasn't an idiot. The way Max and Michelle had acted together was on a completely different level from the way Max usually was around other girls. Sure Max had joked about his sister's high school friends, but that was just how he was. Jude had been certain that Michelle was someone to stay, a staple in Max's life. So when Max had brought up the topic of dropping out, it certainly came as a surprise to him. But he had taken it lightly. He naturally presumed that Michelle would be in his plans for the future. Maybe the two had already talked about leaving college and going to NYC together way before Jude had come into the picture. But Jude was beginning to doubt Max when he hadn't spoken a word about his girlfriend when explaining his plans to him. If Michelle was so special, why was it so easy for Max to move on from her?

He had watched from his spot on the street corner as Max brought the bad news to her. She looked completely miserable and Jude couldn't blame her. He didn't know whether or not Max was right in his decision, he had after all only spoken to the girl for a couple of hours on the car ride down to her house, but he felt a little pained. She had expected to see him after Thanksgiving, probably return to their usual bond, but instead she was dumped. Possibly the last thing she ever expected.

But Jude couldn't let his thoughts linger on poor Michelle for too long. He had met Lucy, Max's interesting sister, and she had just about taken up all the mind space in his head. So in the end, he too had forgotten about Michelle.

Now that she was sitting there in his kitchen, she seemed a whole lot realer to him. Before, she was just a name, a person he had known for a short amount of time, a dwindling memory that would soon be forgotten. But now she was there, in one of her paperboy hats once again, eating their eggs. She seemed so different just sitting there. He didn't know whether it was the time lapse (she looked a bit older, but then again, they all did) or something else. He supposed that he did have a "good eye", as she so called it. But even with one, he still couldn't put a finger down on the change.

As the time slipped by, it was eventually dark out and Michelle announced that she needed to be going. She hugged Jude, then Lucy, but stopped at Max. He offered to drive her home and she accepted seeing as she didn't have a car herself. She said one last farewell to everyone, before leaving.

Lucy and Jude stood stiffly by the door as they took in everything that had just happened.

"I like her," Lucy confessed. "She should come over more often."

Jude nodded. Maybe a little of Michelle was what they needed.


	4. Close Encounters

A/N: Hello once again! First the thank you's: to Bookish, for continuing the feedback, FearMe, for the Favorite add, and to Elle Sparrow, FantasyGirl, Iridessa (I love your name and immediately after I got the email that you added me, I saw a commercial for a fairie who had your name; so yeah, thought that was cool), Starlight, and Calisweet for adding me to their alerts. Sorry if you don't like me shortening your names, but that's just how lazy I am.

Okay, now that that's over with. I'm not really happy with this chapter, definitely not one of my bests, but I still hope you enjoy it all the same. I tried my best to portray each character fully and right and I still feel that I hadn't achieved that. I'm sorry in advance. But if you _do_ happen to like this chapter, woohoo and yay! Drop me a review and I'll luv ya foreva'! And I know it's really long and I cut it off in a weird place, but the next one is gonna be (slightly) better, promise. So here's the story, have fun.

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Four  
****Close Encounters  
**"**We must take our friends as they are."-James Boswell**

It had been two whole days since the grocery encounter and Max was on pins and needles. It was like high school all over again. How much time should pass before calling that girl up again? One day? Two days? Not calling at all? He had never understood the rules of dating, because in Max's book rules were meant to be broken and relationships never lasted longer than needed. Technically it wasn't a date, but he did want to see her again. As he had dropped her off in front of her building, she left him her number saying he might need it, "just in case". He read this as girl code for "call me soon". But was two days soon enough?

He paced in front of the telephone, at times picking it up, and then hanging up again. What would he say? What would he tell her? Was it a call to just say hello or one that had initiative and a plan? He had run through several possible scenarios in his head on the conversation, but none seemed to work out. Maybe it was best that he just break her off completely. But that wouldn't be right, would it? If he really didn't want anything to do with her, then he wouldn't have trailed her down in the grocery store. Obviously he had wanted _something_.

Suddenly the phone rang, causing him to jump in shock. He raised his eyes as it rang a second time. On the third one, he picked it up.

"Michelle?" he asked cautiously.

"Michelle? Who the hell is that?" the familiar voice slurred on the other end.

Max rubbed his sweaty forehead. "Sorry, Sadie."

"I'm recording tonight, you wanna come over?"

Being a taxi driver really didn't fill up his schedule so he didn't have to think twice to know that he was free.

"Yeah, sure I'll be there."

"Oh, and bring Jude and Lucy too, 'kay?"

"Yup, got it."

"See ya there, hun."

Max nodded, then suddenly an idea popped into his head.

"Sadie, wait!"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I, uh, bring a guest?"

"Depends. Who is it?"

"Just an old friend of mine."

"I s'pose you could, as long as they ain't some spy from one of my enemy labels."

"I promise, they aren't."

"Okay. Fine."

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Sadie!"

"No prob, Max."

And the call was over.

* * *

"You don't think I'm overdressed do you?" Michelle asked, straightening out her thin red empire-waisted dress. She had on a red yarn paperboy hat and old beaten up brown boots.

Max glanced over, catching a glimpse at her cleavage before turning back to the road.

_Bad, Max. No._

"No, you look fine," he replied a little breathless.

"I mean, I didn't know what to do," she continued. "What exactly do you where to a recording?"

Max shrugged. "Anything is fine really."

Michelle nodded. "Oh, okay."

They drove on quietly for a few moments until Max broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about calling you on such short notice."

"Oh, it wasn't a big deal," she replied. "Just had to push a few things around, but I'm happy I'm able to go."

"Why, do you work nights?" he asked.

She bit her lip. "I guess you can say that," she said vaguely.

Max felt that she was avoiding the question, but he didn't press on.

Another silence.

"Oh, so you shaved the 'stache," Michelle pointed out.

Max rubbed his upper lip and felt its smoothness.

"I like it," she said.

"Thanks."

Max would've liked to think that he had made the huge decision on his own, but honestly after Michelle's comment on it, he felt that it had to go. It didn't make it any less hard for him, though. He had stood for ten full minutes in front of the bathroom mirror, his razor in one hand, and a swirl of shaving cream in the other, debating on whether or not he should take the plunge and do it. Despite its short life, he had grown attached to his mustache. Though it hadn't done him any good, it was a part of him and it was always difficult to say goodbye to something like that. Then the dawning realization of the allusion between shaving away his mustache and that of breaking up with Michelle overcame him. If it had been so easy (well, technically it wasn't, but he didn't feel like getting into another fight with himself) to let Michelle go, then why was it any different for his mustache? In the end, he had reasoned to himself that getting rid of it was in his best interest if he wanted Michelle back. And before he could contradict himself, it was gone. It felt a little refreshing and Michelle's noticing of it made it all the more sweeter.

In no time at all they had arrived in front of Strawberry Jamz headquarters. After Max parked the car, the two got out. Michelle stopped and surveyed the vastness of the entire structure, slowly taking it all in at once. It was a little overwhelming, so overwhelming in fact, that Max noticed the discomfort shown on her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, her eyes still scanning the building's brick façade. "It's just that, not in a million years would I imagine myself being in this place." She turned to Max. "This is where Sadie performed her rooftop concert, isn't it?"

Max nodded. "I was there."

Michelle smiled. "Wow, that is so crazy. I still can't get over the fact that you _know_ Sadie! She's so big and popular and she used to be your landlord! And I'm such a big fan, what if I fuck up in front of her?"

"You won't," he reassured her, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Sadie's more down to earth than you'd think."

Michelle swallowed loudly. "Do you think she'll get annoyed if I ask for an autograph?"

"Sadie? I doubt it."

Max advanced towards the entrance. As he reached out his hand to grab the knob, he turned to see Michelle still petrified on the city street. "Are you coming?"

She took one last deep breath before following.

* * *

Michelle's nerves still hadn't died down even as they approached the recording studio door up on the third floor. She had wobbled up the flight of stairs cautiously, following Max's figure. She looked incredibly pained and doubtful, as if it had been a big mistake coming. And she didn't hesitate on mouthing her opinion.

"What if they don't like me?"  
"What if I trip over my shoes?"  
"Do you think this outfit is over doing it?"  
"Should I ditch the hat?"  
"How about my hair?"  
"Is Sadie _really_ that down to earth?"  
"Are Lucy and Jude there?"  
"Will there be food?"  
"Is a bathroom close by?"  
"Is it one or two ply?"  
"Maybe I should just go home."

"No!" Max said firmly. His overpowering voice even surprised him. He blinked a couple of times before recovering. "I mean, we're almost there, don't leave now."

Michelle's shoulders loosened up and she took one last look down the stair well, before joining Max in front of the door.

"Open it up before I chicken out," she said.

And he did.

The studios lights hit them head on, causing a temporary blurriness, but once their eyes became adjusted, they entered. Michelle stared around the room and was shocked to see how roomy and comfortable it was. They were currently in a sort of living room, a hang out of sorts. Two maroon couches were placed opposite each other against the wall and were adorned with multicolored shawls draping over their sides. Bean bag poofs dotted the carpeted floor for those who wanted a different perspective than the norm. Low lying lamps were situated on hard mahogany tables casting shadows against the white walls where Sadie's many awards hung framed and uniformed. Michelle couldn't help but smile at it all. Okay, not as bad as she thought.

"C'mon, I think they're through here," Max said, leading her through a doorway.

They were then in a brightly lit kitchen like area. A group of people had already settled themselves contentedly at the table's seats and were enjoying a healthy round of conversation. Finger food was set out in deep bowls for anyone who wanted a snack and bottles of beer were just an arm reach away. Smoke wafted from cigarettes and the happy resonance of laughter filled the air. Jude and Lucy were there, smiles planted permanently on their faces as they joined in on the current topic and others Michelle did not recognize were among the group.

"Hey, guys," Max greeted them, waving a hand.

They sung his name in unison as they turned towards him. They stood from their spots and each greeted him in their own unique way. As they did this, Max introduced them to Michelle, who he noted seemed to be easing up.

"Everyone, this is Michelle," Max introduced, indicating her.

Immediately everyone advanced towards her. Lucy welcomed her as if they were the best of friends, giving her a warm smile and a tight hug. Jude then came forward, not far from Lucy's side and exchanged a few words with her. Then, two people she didn't know at all walked up.

"Michelle, this is Jojo," Max said as a tall, black man with kind eyes and a strong handshake came up to her. "And this is Prudence." Beside him was a girl just about her height that shook her hand excitedly up and down with a huge grin on her face.

"So how do you know Max?" Prudence asked, swinging her beer along her side.

"We were friends back in college," Michelle replied.

"Oh, wow, and you just met up now?"

"Yeah, just pure coincidence."

"That's so cool," Prudence drawled, beaming.

"And how about you?" for Michelle was genuinely interested in this girl's relationship with Max.

"I used to live with him back when we were all livin' with Sadie," she said. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, we weren't serious. We just had a little fun sometimes."

Michelle nodded her head in understanding. What had she expected? For Max to stay chaste forever? Doubt it. But inside she felt a little disappointed, though she knew it was childish of her to feel so.

Michelle joined them at the table. She listened to them ease into another discussion easily realizing how relaxed they were with each other. She watched them speak, hearing their take on issues, sometimes getting heated about something political, then revert back to laughing and joking. She would sometimes offer her opinion when the right time came around and they would listen fully, and she would feel whole and proud of herself.

"So where's Sadie?" Michelle whispered to Max after about three quarters of an hour passed.

"Knowing Sadie, she's probably takin' her sweet time getting here," he replied.

Michelle checked her wrist watch nervously.

"Why? Is there some place you have to be?" he asked concerned.

"No, it's just that," she didn't finish her sentence because just then Sadie decided to make her entrance.

"Hey, ya'll," she crooned in her calm, signature voice.

Michelle froze upon seeing her idol in person.

Sadie came around; pecking everyone on the cheek, stopping momentarily to kiss Jojo fully, then abruptly came to a halt in front of Michelle. She gave her a peculiar look before realization dawned on her face. "Are you Max's _guest_?"

Michelle nodded, fidgeting with her hat which was now in her two hands.

Sadie's mouth turned up with a trace of a smile and suddenly she flung an arm across Michelle's shoulders. "Well, welcome to Strawberry Jamz Studio! It had totally slipped my mind that Max'd brought someone. If I had remembered, I would've came sooner. Never the best at first impressions." She then cackled lively, throwing her head back, her thick curls flying and bouncing up and down. Once she had recovered, she noticed that Michelle seemed to have remained still. She turned to Max. "She deaf or something?"

"No, no, no," he said. "She's just nervous. Think an autograph'll help."

"Then why didn't you say so?" Sadie bellowed letting go of Michelle and grabbing one of her albums. She whipped out her handy dandy black marker and scribbled her sig on the cover. She blew over her mark to dry it off a bit, then handed it to Michelle. "There ya go love. All you had to was ask."

Michelle took it gratefully. "Thanks," she breathed softly.

Sadie beamed then led the group into the actual recording studio. More couches were placed in the room and everyone took their spots. Michelle took a seat between Max and Prudence, still staring awestruck at her new album. Sadie entered the recording booth, followed by Jojo and they did what they did best.

Sing.

* * *

"You've been so quiet," Prudence said over Sadie's powerful voice blaring through the speakers. "We've all spoken, I wanna know about you."

"What is there to say exactly?" Michelle replied.

Prudence placed a thin finger over her mouth in thought. "Well, how were you in Max back in college?"

Max turned his head pretending not to listen.

"We were just really good friends," Michelle started. "He went to Princeton and I went to Evelyn across town."

"How'd you meet?" Prudence continued.

"Well we didn't start off on the best of terms," Michelle began.

"Why am I not surprised?" Prudence smirked.

"But I guess it all began back in our freshman year there."

* * *

Clarissa was bragging about some guy. I wasn't really paying attention. Whenever she started talking about all the men she's bagged, I've just learned to tune her out. To be honest, I never really liked hearing her stories. She was so free with her sexuality whereas I was still a virgin and was thoroughly planning on staying that way. I still wonder why I was friends with her. Maybe it was because she was the first person to introduce herself to me, or because we were roommates, or because I was just incredibly stupid at the time. Whatever the reason, I was stuck with her, so I might as well get used to it.

"Where does he go?" Joyce, another one of our dorm buddies asked.

"Princeton," Clarissa sighed. "So convenient since he's just across town."

"You could go over and sleep with him every week without having to miss class. It _is_ perfect," Nancy mumbled, taking a long drag from her cigarette. She was also another one of the girls that stayed in our dorm. To be honest, I preferred her and Joyce's company over Clarissa's, but I never did get my way.

Joyce and I laughed at her comment while Clarissa merely scowled. "You're just jealous all the guys fall over me while you three are sitting by yourselves. I can't help the way I look, if they find me _so_ attractive."

"_You_ attractive, I don't think so," Nancy continued. "But those melons planted on your chest are what they're after."

Joyce and I giggled some more.

"If you didn't have them practically hanging out of your shirt, you wouldn't be sleeping with as many people as you've been," Nancy finished, blowing smoke into the air.

"A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do," Clarissa said defiantly.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "You are such a bitch sometimes, you know that?"

"And that's why you guys love me," she slurred, teetering a bit from having one too many drinks.

We were on our way back to school after a night out. Seeing as none of us had a car, we had to make the long journey home on foot. We didn't really mind, though. It was a nice time to just talk.

"I'm surprised you're not in someone's bed right now," I said, balancing against the street curb. The road was currently deserted so I wasn't worried about getting trampled by a passing car.

"That's because we have an exam in the morning," Clarissa yawned, leaning against Nancy's shoulder. "I can't afford to get kicked out."

All three of them were daughters of important faculty members at Evelyn. Most of the girls studying there were. I was among the few who wasn't which made me immediately different from the rest of them.

"Did I finish telling you about this guy?"

We all groaned. It didn't stop her from continuing.

"Well I met him at the town tavern a month ago when you guys were busy doing work and I was off by myself. He was with a bunch of his guy friends drinking and playing pool. Whenever he leaned over to hit one of those balls with his stick, I always managed to check his—"

"Okay, too much information," I stopped her, knowing where this was going.

"No thank you," Joyce added, shaking her head.

"Well, anyway. I started to talk him up and he had these really entrancing blue eyes and they hooked me. I'm telling you guys, he was something different."

"Different? What do you mean?" Nancy asked, lighting up again.

"Like," Clarissa started, trying to find the right words to explain. "he wasn't like the other guys I've been with. I don't know what it was about him, but he just gave me an incredible feeling inside."

"Then he bagged you," Nancy finished up the story quickly. "The end."

"No, it is _not_ the end," Clarissa snapped. "We're still seeing each other, matter of fact."

"And what's this mystery guy's name?" I asked, still on the curb, my arms stretched out to keep myself from falling.

All of a sudden, the sound of an engine revving up cranked in the distance and soon headlights came upon us. Everyone else chose to turn around and investigate while I stupidly decided to continue on my balance beam. I could feel the light shining brighter upon my back, but I still faced forward, determined. Then Joyce shouted my name and yanked me away from the road, just as a convertible whizzed past, a car filled with drunken boys making cat calls and kissing noises at us. As it narrowly missed me, one of them reached out an arm and grabbed my beat up brown hat from its perch on my head, leaving my hair in a state of disrepair. I locked eyes with the culprit for a bit before the car had sped off. The blonde boy had a mischievous look on his face as he waved my hat to and fro. My mouth hung open in awe and rage.

_How dare they?_

"Ohmygawd, Max!" Clarissa squealed.

"What?" Nancy barked as she made her way towards me. "Sweetie, you okay?"

Joyce was holding me right arm while I was still staring off in the distance. "He took my hat."

Joyce and Nancy exchanged a look.

"That was him!" Clarissa said, jumping up and down, her D's bouncing along with her, a hand pointed in the direction of the speeding car. "That was him!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nancy asked.

"That guy that took your hat, that's Max, the guy I was talking about!" she explained. She abruptly calmed down and let out an evil cackle. "He's insane."

I muttered, "Clarissa, you better call him up. I want to talk to him." Clarissa shot me a suspicious look and I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh, get over yourself. It isn't like that. I just want my hat back."

I stomped off in anger, not bothering to wait for the rest of them.

The bastard had a death wish and I was there to deliver.


	5. Reality's Like a Punch to the Face

A/N: First and foremost, my acknowledgements: Bookish, of course even though I've been lazy with the replies (sorry bout that) and everyone in general for reading this. I'm happy to tell you that I've reached my 300th hit mark. Yesh, I know that may be a measly number, but I find that that's an accomplishment and anyone who thinks otherwise is just a hater.

I'd also like to address the fact Michelle is named Michelle. Yeah, I thought I was oh so clever pickin' a name from a Beatles song, but apparently I'm not since I've seen about a dozen other fics that feature a Michelle. I don't mind. I just hope mine's unique enough for your taste. Anyway, done with that. Have fun reading!

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Five  
****Reality's Like a Punch to the Face  
**"**When you argue with reality, you lose - but only 100 percent of the time."-** **Byron Katie**

Max blinked fixedly at Michelle's innocent round face as she took a breath from her story telling. "Were you really that mad?"

She nodded, fingering one of the many hats she owned, that was now on her head. "These are important to me. And who were you to just do that?"

Prudence nodded, immediately taking Michelle's side. "Dude, you were just so being obnoxious. Not cool."

Max made an obnoxious face at Prudence and Michelle giggled.

"So what happened next?" Prudence nudged Michelle's arm.

Michelle's eyes turned towards the ceiling in concentration. "Well, the next night we forced Clarissa to call you. Remember that?"

Max scratched his head. "Think so, could've been high. Never know."

"Well, we were all in our dorm waiting on her to make the call…"

* * *

"What are you so afraid of?" Joyce asked impatiently, her hair back in curlers and a cigarette between her long fingers.

"I thought he was 'different'," Nancy said, making the quotations gesture. She obviously found Clarissa's story to be phony, why else would she be hesitating this much?

I paced across the room, arms folded in seriousness. "If you have no problem baggin' him every night, what's the big deal with a phone call?"

"Okay! Calm down!" she snapped, her hand hovering over the phone. We all watched her expectantly. "I just need a couple of moments to think out a strategy."

"AKA, stalling," Joyce sang as she sat back onto the coffee table.

Clarissa, not standing the annoyance of our voices any more, finally picked the phone up and began to dial. We watched her work fixedly, hanging on every movement she made. As she waited for him to answer, she locked eyes with each of us once sending us mental death rays for putting her though such torture. Suddenly her mouth flew open and her eyes widened. I guess he had answered.

She tug a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said, "Hello, Max? Hey, it's me, Clarissa…Ummm, you remember, the one from the bar?"

Nancy cackled from her spot by the window. "He doesn't remember her!"

Joyce joined in on her laughter, but I remained stoic. Clarissa held up her free hand in a very rude gesture to both hysteric girls, but it didn't do much to shut them up.

"Yeah, yeah, I was with my friends on the street last night," Clarissa said into the speaker. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty funny…It _was_ pretty funny…No…No…Well, that's not really why I called."

I bit my thumbnail nervously as I listened to the conversation.

"You see, I think you took my friend's hat…Yeah, her…Uh, excuse me? Are you serious? No way—!"

I couldn't hold myself back any longer, so I dived for the phone, snatching it out of Clarissa's hands. Before she could pounce on me to retrieve it back, Joyce and Nancy held her wriggling body as I took my turn on the phone.

"So this is Max?" I asked, my fingers twirling around the chord.

"Who's this?"

I didn't answer.

"Oh wait, are you Clarissa's friend?"

"Yeah, the one you took the hat from."

"You're really serious about that hat, huh?"

I sighed into the phone.

"Does it have sentimental value? Did your dead grandmother give it to you on her deathbed? Is that why you want it back so bad?"

"Look you jerk, it's none of your business why I want my hat back, the point is it's _my_ hat and it belongs to me. So are you going to give it back to me or not?"

"And what if I say no?"

"Michelle! Give the phone back to me!" Clarissa whined, struggling against Joyce and Nancy.

"Your name's Michelle?"

"Huh, what?" I asked, a little preoccupied with Clarissa flailing legs.

"You don't look like a Michelle."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, from the back your ass read something along the lines of Teresa or Melanie or something."

My mouth fell open in amazement. The nerve of this guy. I breathed heavily into the phone with the fury building up in my throat. I threw the phone back at Clarissa where it promptly bonked her on the head.

"Tell him...tell him," I stuttered, the anger taking over my ability to speak. "Tell that jackass I want to see him face to face."

"What he say to you, Michelle?" Nancy asked in curiosity.

But I couldn't have replied, because by the time I had registered the question, I had already slammed the door to my bedroom.

* * *

"And that's it."

"_That's it_?" Prudence repeated in disbelief. "That can't be it."

Somehow Jude and Lucy had found their way over to their couch and had been listening into the story too. They stared transfixed at Michelle as she twirled a piece of hair around and around her finger.

"Well nothing too exciting happened after that," she said nonchalantly. "We met, exchanged a few words, and in the end I let him keep it."

"But after all that drama, that's it?" Prudence pushed on.

Max could remember that day he had first fully had a conversation with Michelle. It wasn't just a "quick exchange of words". Oh contraire, it was the very beginning for both of them. More so for Max because he could distinctly remember knowing that that was the start of him falling hard. Two years later, he ended up being the one ending the relationship. How ironic. But he knew Michelle had a good reason for keeping the truth from the rest of them. They didn't have to know everything and she had given enough information for them to be interested. She always was a great story teller.

Michelle shrugged.

Suddenly a rapping sound filled the still air. Everyone turned to see Sadie knocking on the sound proof glass, her mouth moving animatedly, and a confused look on her face. They continued to blink cluelessly at her until Jojo took it upon himself to exit the chamber.

"She wants to know why no one's listening," he told them calmly.

No one seemed to want to answer. Michelle took this chance to steal a glance at her watch and unexpectedly jumped in her seat. "Oh, it's late!" She turned to Max. "I kinda' need to go home."

Max took her wrist in his hand and looked at the time himself. "Late? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I hadn't expected to stay out this long; I really have to get back." She faced the others. "It was really nice meeting you all." She stood up along with everyone else and said farewell to each. Sadie stepped out of the room to say goodbye warmly, giving Michelle the giggles as she thanked her over and over again for the album. Following Max out of the studio and with one last resounding send-off, they left.

They descended the stairs in silence, Max occasionally stealing a glance Michelle's way and Michelle still with a glint of happiness in her eyes. Only until they had reached the street sidewalk did they finally speak.

"How come you didn't tell them the truth?" Max asked, jingling his keys from his hands.

Michelle shrugged. "You kept introducing me as your old college friend. So that's what I told them: I was just a friend." She leaned against the brick face wall of the building, closing her eyes and breathing slowly in and out. Max stared at her fixedly watching her chest move up and down with each breath and the calmness taking over her face. He suddenly wondered why he had left her in the first place. With her elegant form, her deep eyes, that freaking paperboy hats she always wore, and her seeming understanding of him, she was irresistible. Max slowly advanced toward her, not knowing what his body was going to do for his mind was just in for the ride. Their bodies were just inches apart when Max couldn't bring himself to do anything. He couldn't lift his arm to touch her face or open his mouth to say something really clever and moody. Instead, he stood their motionless. Finally, Michelle opened her eyes and looked into his and smiled. "I remember when I first saw you," she whispered. "I wanted to hate you _so_ bad for taking my damn hat. I was ready to tell you off but then I saw you up close I couldn't because you looked so kind and innocent."

"And how wrong were you?" he murmured.

"So wrong," she giggled. "And remember? You sent Clarissa away?"

"She never was very smart."

"She was in some things," Michelle said amiably. "Just whenever she was around you…" Her voice faltered and her mouth stopped in mid sentence, leaving it slightly open. It was her turn to become still. All she could do was stare at him and at those eyes and _breath_.

"You want to know something?" he asked, his voice dropping a little bit more.

She didn't answer, still not being able to.

"That's when I knew," he continued. "That's when I knew I wanted you so bad. But you wouldn't let me, no." He then shook his head slowly and she shook hers a long with him as if in a trance.

Suddenly everything stopped; the sound of the car honks in the distance, the bugs in the bushes, even the humming of the streetlight. And in the middle of it all, it was just them alone in the entire world, nothing else existed. It was if no time had passed at all and they were still the same old people back at Princeton and Evelyn. It was like nothing had changed at all. And with that familiarity, they gave in to what they wanted, what they had craved for the longest time. Max leaned closer and closer to Michelle, ever so slowly. Michelle would've let him, she honestly would've, but her mind came back to her and kicked her ass out of the dream. She suddenly realized where she was: reality. And her kissing Max at that exact moment was impossible if she was living in reality. So she gasped and turned her face away, leaving him hanging. He immediately moved off away from her and stood awkwardly, looking incredibly sheepish.

"I—I'm, sorry," she muttered.

"No, it all right," he replied dutifully. He gestured towards the taxi. "Didn't you need to get back?"

She nodded avidly suddenly remembering. She dived into the car and Max entered on the other side. The ride back was so deadly quiet that you could practically hear Max's heart crumbling into tiny sand sized pieces despite the fact he showed none of this on his face. Michelle was agonizing in the passenger seat, twisting and turning trying to find a comfortable position, though there seemed to be none for her. She bit her lip and took a sideways look at Max, but could read nothing. She sighed, feeling extremely guilty. It felt like forever 'til they arrived in front of Michelle's apartment. To them, it hadn't happened long enough.

"Um, thanks for this, Max," she said, addressing her sweaty hands.

"No problem," he replied slowly.

Michelle fidgeted with her hair and hat still not moving from her seat. Max stared at her expectantly, just waiting for her to run out of his car and out of his life. But she didn't. She _did_ look incredibly nervous, though.

"Max," she finally said after a few moments. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked. He secretly hoped that she was about to confess her undying love for him and things would be all right again.

She rubbed her hands together, and then wiped them on her dress. "Remember my birthday?"

He nodded. How could he forget that?

"Well, you know how we—_you know_."

"Yeah," he said, nodding even more.

She took a breath. "Well, a week after you left I found out I was…"

"_Yes_?!"

"I found out I was pregnant," she hissed.

Max leaned back in his seat, realization dawning on his face. "Who's was it?"

She gave him a "Michelle" look; a look saying, "c'mon, Max, you should know the answer to this already".

"You were my first and last, Max," she said softly.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know _another_ author's note. Oh, the horror. Just bare with me, it'll be short (and is that the right spelling of "bare"?). So yeah, Michelle dropped the bomb. I hope I hadn't been too obvious throughout this fic and the confession was a nice lil surprise to y'all. And I certainly hope I hadn't turned anyone off. Review, review, review if you want to make Mango a _very_ happy person. Tell me if you hate it, love it, or anything in between. I want to know!


	6. Eyes You Can Swim In

A/N: Hello, readers! I'm here once again to torture you with mindless ramble in my oddly long author notes. So to save you all the trouble, I'll dive right in. Thanks as always to Bookish. I have a feeling you're getting tired of me saying your name all the time, but thank you's are due. Also to a new reviewer and alert add, Serenity Rain. And my last thank you, to all my readers, anonymous and not. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. I'm sure I've said that before, but there's no harm in saying it again.

Anyway, it's a short chappie this time, just to keep you on your toes. Slight cliffy, but since I warned you about it, it probably won't be as bad, right? Also, I didn't mean to make it seem all fluffy sweet and crap, but if it does sound like that, I'm sorry in advance. Okay, now onto reading. Enjoy.

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Six  
****Eyes You Can Swim In  
**"**Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose."-Mary Shelley**

Michelle touched her index finger to her lips, the international sign of quiet. While her eyes turned to the old wooden door, she slid her key into the slot. She turned it incredibly slowly, making a great effort to make no noise at all. She swung the door open revealing an incredibly tiny apartment. The kitchen melted into the dining room which melted into the living room. Max could see an open bedroom door to the right and a bathroom next to that. A lady with long brown hair was sitting on the floor in front of the couch watching _I Love Lucy_ on an incredibly quiet level. All the lights were off so the TV's lights were dancing across her face.

"Hey, Sue," Michelle whispered, tip toeing in.

Upon seeing Michelle, Sue hurried to her feet. "He's asleep," she informed her. Suddenly her eyes drifted to Max in the doorway. Her face dropped. "_It's him_."

"Yeah," Michelle confirmed, beckoning him inside.

Still staring at Sue's face, Max was a little hesitant to enter.

"Thanks so much," Michelle said as Sue gathered her things and turned the TV off.

As she made her way past Max, she shot him an accusing look before closing the door and leaving.

"Don't mind, Sue," Michelle said as she approached the couch. "She's just a little protective over me."

"So she knows," Max stated rather than asked.

"'Course she does, she was babysitting for me tonight," Michelle replied. She reached the couch and stared down lovingly at something on it. From Max's spot, he couldn't tell what. She bent down and scooped it up and Max nearly choked on his own spit as he saw it, him, _er_, whatever. In Michelle's arms she held a little boy whose eyes were half open and head drooped onto her shoulder sleepily. His skin was a shade between Max's paleness and Michelle's deep tan, and his hair was also in the happy medium between his blonde tresses and her black ones, a mousy brown. Max could see slight resemblances, his nose, his face structure, and his overall body type. And then he could see bits and pieces of Michelle mixed in there: the shape of his eyes and his pouty mouth. But he saw the most distinguishing feature of all once the boy lifted his head and stared at him. Those eyes, _his eyes_, were now on the boy's; as the boy stared at him, he could feel the blues of each colliding with his own. It was a sight so beautiful and shocking that Max could feel his heart skip a beat.

Michelle beamed at the little boy, hoisting him higher up into her arms, getting a firm hold of him. "Hey, John, sweetie, this is Max. Say, 'Hi, Max.'"

"Hi, Max," the boy repeated shyly.

"Max, this is John. Can you say, 'Hi, John?'" Michelle asked Max jokingly in the same sickly sweet manner she had asked her son.

Max didn't find it all that funny since he just stood there gaping.

Michelle cleared her throat loudly. "How old are you John? Can you tell us?"

The boy held up two fingers while he yawned.

"Two?" Max repeated hoarsely.

Michelle nodded. "He's going to be three in three months." She looked between him and John. "Okay, I think it's time for bed." She led the way into the small bedroom which was devoted to the little boy. Tiny toy cars were scattered over the rug and hard wooden floor and coloring books were laid open on shelves and chairs. Michelle laid him down on his puzzle piece comforter and tucked him in. Once he had gotten comfortable, Michelle sat down on the bedside and Max stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching.

"Good night, baby," she said, kissing him on the forehead.

"Sing me a song, mommy," the boy asked gently.

Michelle rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, do I _have_ to? I'm so tired."

"Please!" John pleaded.

She sighed loudly. "Oh, all right." She tapped her chin in thought. "But _what_ should I sing?" She turned to Max. "Have any ideas?"

Max just shrugged, surprised she had asked his opinion.

"Oh, I have one," she announced. She leaned into John, stroking his hair, then around his face.

"_But of all these friends and lovers,  
__There is no one compares with you.  
__And these memories lose their meaning  
__When I think of love as something new.  
__Though I know I'll never lose affection  
__For people and things that went before.  
__I know I'll often stop and think about them,  
__In my life I love you more._"

And like that, John was out. And so was Max.

While Michelle had crooned the familiar song to her sleepy child, Max was flooded with memories. He could see himself doing the same thing, but to her, Michelle, and she was crying; then she had left. It was the same song he sang to her when he had gone off to New York. He could see now what he had left behind. Not only Michelle, which was an already big mistake to begin with, but this child as well. He had left Michelle for years and hadn't even known. That apprehension was just too much for him. He couldn't stay there in that little apartment with them anymore. It was too much to take all at once. All this pressure was suffocating him and he ran. He ran out of the apartment, out of that building, and right into his taxi. He punched and hit his guiltless steering wheel out of anger and regret. He couldn't do anything now. He had seriously fucked up.


	7. Let Me Take You Down

A/N: Helloz, readers! You don't know how happy I am! I was checking up on my mail today and I suddenly became all giddy from all the adds and reviews I've gotten. I was so compelled by this apprecation of my work, I decided to update! Yay! Thanks to, Bookish for reviewing as always, a7xluver for the Author Add, Asthetic for the review, and the adds from Ollie. I have a distinct feeling I'm forgetting someone, but I just can't remember who. Oh well, if I have forgotten to thank you, I'll take care of it in my next A/N. Also, if anyone actually cares, I've reached the 650 hits mark. Yeah, yeah, not a lot, I know, but I'm still very proud! Keep showing the love and I'll keep writing. Thanks for everything, guys! Oh, and quick remark before this chapter starts, not really that long or one of my bests, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. (Did that rhyme? Gaspeth!)

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Seven  
****Let Me Take You Down  
**"**Destiny is not a matter of chance; but a matter of choice."-William Jennings Bryant**

Jude and Lucy probably would've been in the bedroom at this point, but the depth of the night's events were still weighing heavy in their minds. So rather than "spreading the love", they were seated at the kitchen table sipping on their coffee and tea, wearing strange expressions on their faces.

Not long after Max and Michelle had left Strawberry Jamz, the topic of the two quickly arose.

"She's hiding something," Jude announced most certainly.

"Why would you say that?" Prudence asked thoroughly confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "She goes through all the trouble of telling us that story then cuts it short at the most vital part. She doesn't want us knowing something."

"Maybe she doesn't want us knowing something about Max," Prudence suggested, suddenly jumping onto Jude's wagon.

"That's ridiculous," Lucy rolled her eyes, apparently not up for a ride. "If something major happened to Max, _I_ would've known."

Jojo leaned on his guitar. "_You_ knew nothin' about her and they seemed really close."

"How would you know? You were in there playing," Lucy pointed out. "Whose side are you on?"

"No side," Jojo replied serenely and that stopped Lucy from retorting back.

"So what'd you think happened to them?" Sadie asked Jude, crossing her arms and propping herself against the doorway.

Jude swallowed knowing full well what had happened, 'course he wasn't about to tell them. Max could confess the truth when it was the right time. It wasn't Jude's place. So to answer Sadie's question, he shrugged.

"They were probably intimate," Jojo said insightfully.

"She doesn't seem Max's type," Lucy said wistfully, pondering over the thought.

Sadie snorted. "Max has a type? He fucks everything that moves." She stopped short. "Well, before he got drafted."

It suddenly became very quiet and they tried to move away from that solemn subject.

"Maybe that's the point, she _wasn't_ his type," Prudence piped up recalling her relationship with Max.

"If anything, I can only see her being a friend which is already hard to imagine to begin with," Lucy said. "Max didn't have many friends that were girls."

"But didn't you see them today?" Prudence said making a very dramatic gesture with her arms. "They were practically smitten with each other."

"Oh, Pru, Pru, Pru," Jude chuckled, shaking his head.

Jude's small outburst didn't derail her. She continued. "And did you see the way her eyes went when she was telling her story; whenever she mentioned him? They're in love!"

"Or were in love," Jojo mumbled.

"When'd you say they meet up again?" Sadie asked.

"Two days ago, I s'pose," Jude answered.

"And they're already acting like _that_. Something definitely happened," Sadie said.

Lucy sighed. "I wouldn't mind if Michelle and Max got together. I think a little positive energy is what he needs after…everything."

Everyone agreed.

Jude stirred his coffee rhythmically as Lucy sipped her tea across from him. "He's taking a while," he said abruptly.

"Now who's acting motherly?" Lucy chirped, smirking.

Jude rolled his eyes. "You don't think—?"

Lucy shook her head furiously, her long blonde hair swirling around her shoulders. "No. Did they do anything the last time he dropped her off? She doesn't seem like she's easy."

Jude nodded. "That's true. But you never know; young love in the air, the nights are getting hotter, and Max has been clean for a long time (in more ways than one)."

"_Or_, he could be just taking his time getting back," Lucy replied, staring at her nails. "You know that's also possible. What is it with guys and sex?"

Jude shrugged. "We just can't seem to get it out of our heads."

""Least you're honest," Lucy crooned pressing her lips into his.

It wasn't two seconds when Max burst into the room ruining the moment.

Lucy was about to greet him but she noticed the angst written across his face. She jumped to her feet with worry. "Max? What happened?"

But Max didn't answer. He couldn't seem to be capable. His hands shook and all of a sudden he grabbed a pillow from a nearby chair and chucked it across the room with a great and powerful yell. (A/N: I was channeling the Strawberry Fields vibe during this, so imagine it's Max instead of Jude; and instead of strawberries, he's throwing pillows, much less destructive and messy.) Lucy inched backwards in surprise and Jude jumped to her side equally flabbergasted. Max continued to throw pillows and cushions around in his fit. Lucy and Jude were too petrified to stop him. Finally after he seemed to have petered out, he crumpled to the floor in a big sweaty heap, his chest heaving to grasp breaths of air and his hair drenched. This was when the two chose to run up and address him fully.

"Max?" Lucy whispered hesitantly, rubbing his arm and dropping down beside him. "Are you okay?"

Max just shook his head as if he was disappointed in something.

"You had us a little worried back there, mate," Jude said in an effort to lighten the mood.

Max's face fell to his hands and when he spoke his words were muffled. "Oh, Jude."

"Yes, Max?" Jude leaned down hopefully.

But "Oh, Jude" was all Max could say. Over and over he said it in an eerie sort of chant. Lucy's eyes began to swim with tears as she looked her poor brother up and down, feeling completely helpless. Jude had expected that Max was crying as well, but when he eventually lifted his face from his hands he saw that his face was dry (apart from the sweat), although he looked extremely tired and wasted.

"Max?" Jude said.

Max shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jude."

"For what?"

"For your dad leaving you when you were little, for you having to live without him all those years, for you hating him—"

"What do you mean?" Jude asked.

Lucy took her brother by the arm. "C'mon, we can't talk like this." She tried to hoist Max up, but he showed no effort in trying to leave the ground. Lucy shot a look at Jude and he helped her. They propped him up onto the sofa and they both took seats on either side of him. "Go ahead, Max. Tell us what you need to say."

"You know, Jude, when I met you and I found out about your situation, I asked myself what kind of dick dad would walk out on a girl pregnant," Max began. "You knocked someone up and then have the audacity to just leave? Why would you do that? Just leave someone you love and forget about them only to find that you have a kid years later." Max stopped and stared down at his hands.

"What does that have to do with you?" Lucy asked.

"I've become the one person that I've hated," Max mumbled. His head fell back into the sofa's soft cushions and he stared at the ceiling as if it was the reason he was so mad. "Michelle has a kid."

Lucy and Jude exchanged a look.

"But it isn't yours, is it?" Lucy asked hopefully, although she already knew the answer. "I mean, you guys were _just friends_."

"C'mon, Luc, did you not see her? How could I be just friends with that?" Max replied in his usual manner and Lucy and Jude loosened up a bit. Atleast he wasn't screaming and throwing things around. Despite the bomb he had just dropped, it was good that he had returned—slightly—to the old Max they had once known.

Max sighed loudly. "I was so stupid."

"Well atleast you know now," Jude said. "The boy's still young, I'm guessing, you still have an opportunity to make things right. I didn't meet my dad till much later. Probably why I was so bitter."

"I just don't want him to hate me," Max murmured. "And I don't want _her_ to hate me either, the way I ran out of there."

Lucy laid her head upon Max's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll make things right. I _know_ you will. Just rest for tonight, you can always talk to her tomorrow."

Max nodded, pressing his cheek into Lucy's sweet smelling hair. "Yeah, I think I'll do that."


	8. Dream to Take the Pain Away

A/N: I have a feeling that it's been a little too long since my last update. Have been having a couple of difficulties with the writing process, mostly due to writer's block and the fact that I watched AtU again and it made me rethink a lot of things. Hopefully I've stayed true to the movie enough to satisfy all of my readers and if I haven't, due feel free to tell me. Thanks is rightly needed. Thanks to Bookish as always, Asthetic for the lovely review, and Serenity Rain for droppin' some love.

Anyways, I believe this is one of the best chapters I have ever done in my internet story career. One of my favorites too. I tend to favor chapters I write with minimal dialogue. So I hope you like it as much as I do. Leave a review so I know how you feel! Enjoy!

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Eight  
****Dream to Take the Pain Away  
**"**I know what nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes. I know it's everybody's sin; you got to lose to know how to win."-Dream On, Aerosmith**

It smelled of death and vomit. Max couldn't differentiate which one was the stronger scent, but they were both overwhelming him terribly. He thought he might've gotten used to it after such a long stay at the hospital, but apparently that wasn't the case. He figured that one never gets used to such smells. How did those doctors and nurses do it? How could they work twelve hours shifts with war vets when it smelled so _bad_? Max had to hand it to them. It sure took a lot of balls to work in a place as horrible as this.

The curtains were pulled around him. How peculiar. Usually the nurses didn't bother covering him up. He didn't mind at times, it gave him something to look at whenever he was bored, which was all the time. He had taken in and memorized every square inch of the hospital ward he was placed in. There were exactly twelve beds, two windows at either end of the room, one bed pan at the foot of his bed, and about 243 squares on the ceiling (he was never sure because whenever he counted, he got a different result).

The guy next to him, the last time he had checked, was a newbie. He had probably just been sent home and Max could definitely understand why: about half of his left leg had been blown off. When Max had first lain eyes on him, he had winced loudly. It was a tough sight to look at. But it was hardly surprising. He'd seen much worse. The newbie, however, was not as calm as Max. When they had brought him in on his wheelchair all bandaged up, he was muttering weirdly to himself. Then, when they laid him on the bed, he began to flail around, scream obscenities, and cry all at the same time. This annoyed Max greatly. He was tempted to shout over to his neighbor to chill out, be a little considerate; there were other people in the ward. But before he could, the nurses, who had gathered around the excited newbie, shut him up and he was out.

Max stared to his right at where the newbie was supposed to be, but all he could see was white curtain. His mind began to wonder again. The previous guy, before the newbie, had come in at just about the same time as he had. They talked at times whenever they had the energy to, but mostly they just sat there in bed enjoying each other's company. Inevitably, he had died. It sucked, but Max didn't have much time to dwell on it. Lucy had just visited telling him about Jude's deportation. And before he could dwell on _that_, the ward was invaded by five incredibly hot nurse clones. They were dressed in unbelievably short and tight nurse uniforms that hugged their curves. Max had entered heaven. They sang to him and he sang to them and they sang together.

Then they shot him up.

The feeling was amazing.

Now that he was awake and fully alert, he wondered when they'd return and give him more. He definitely missed them. After Vietnam, he needed some lovin'.

So with this thought, the smells of death and vomit suddenly left him and all he could feel was the _need_ for those nurses. The _want_ for them to come back.

It felt like hours until anything happened. The curtains were still around him. He would've pulled them away long ago, but he had no strength to blink his blue eyes let alone lift his arm up and make a sweeping movement with it. Finally, someone pushed them away and he felt relief wash him up and down…until he noticed who it was—

"Michelle?" he exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening. She was dressed in the nurse clones' outfit as if she was going to perform for him, just as they had, any minute. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's—?"

"Anita?" she finished for him. "That pretty nurse that danced around in the middle of the room for everyone?"

He nodded still in shock.

"I told her to take a break," Michelle answered smiling coyly. "I wanted to take care of you today."

Max tried to see over Michelle's figure, but she was blocking the view of the rest of the room.

"Is she gonna' come back?" he asked, still trying to look.

Michelle plastered on an overly dramatic fake, hurt face. "'Course she is. But don't you want me?"

"'Course I do!" he replied feeling guilty. "Are you gonna dance around too and then shoot me up?"

She dragged her index finger up and down his arm tenderly then walked around to his other side, not taking her eyes of his. She then stroked his face softly. "How 'bout we do something better?"

Max contemplated this. He really would like some more morphine but he was curious as to what Michelle had in mind.

"Okay…" he replied calmly, not affected by Michelle's caressing. In fact, he found it quite irritating.

Her smile widened and he could tell she was getting excited. She hoisted herself onto his bed and straddled her legs across him so she was on top of him. She continued to touch him, his hair, his nose, his neck, with her hands. Max raised his eyes at her getting slightly impatient. All of a sudden, she leaned onto him and began to kiss him deeply.

Okay, this was not what he had in mind. He pushed her off and wiped his hand across his lips.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

His eyes drifted towards her hiked up dress, then back to her face.

She gave him an odd look.

"What?" he demanded forcefully.

"Have I ever told you you have _really_ blue eyes?" she asked, still staring at him.

He rolled his really blue eyes. "Only like a million times."

She frowned down on him. She descended from the bed and plopped onto the floor. "You better take care of those eyes, someone might gouge them out."

Max sighed. "It probably wouldn't be as bad Vietnam."

Then "Anita" and her clones appeared, each holding a different torture device. "Let's find out," they said in unison.

Max was overcome with fear. He began to flail around, scream obscenities, and cry all at the same time. Before he could escape, the clones held him down and smiled at him with malicious looks on their flawless faces.

Michelle stood to the side, her hands on her hips, wearing a very uncaring expression. "That's what you get, Max, for not loving me. Now you're gonna lose your eyes."

"But I do love you!" he screamed, still thrashing about.

"Liar," Michelle whispered scornfully.

"I'm not lying! I swear!" The nurse clones seemed to be abnormally full of strength 'cause they had no trouble pinning him to his bed.

"I'm sorry, Max," she apologized even though it was obvious she didn't mean it. "But it's too late. Maybe you should've thought of that _before_ going to New York."

He was about to reply back, but one of the clones stuffed a balled up towel into his mouth and another held up a menacing looking knife. It inched closer and closer to his valuable assets and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

He screamed.

Atleast he tried to.

Wait, hadn't he?

He was sure he had screamed something.

Suddenly he could feel someone shaking his shoulders. He could hear her saying something. He just couldn't _see_ anything.

"Max?!"

Maybe it wasn't him after all.

"Lucy?"

"Oh, Max!"

And then the world was revealed to him. His heavy lids opened up and he realized his eyes were in their sockets after all. What a relief. And then he noticed Lucy's worried figure next to him.

"What happened?" he asked totally confused.

She was sitting beside him in bed and he was sitting up.

"You were having a really bad dream," she told him. "Then you started yelling something and rolling around. You scared me—"

He frowned. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure—?"

"Yeah."

Lucy gave him a knowing look, but departed back to her and Jude's part of the apartment.

Max stared after her until she was out of sight. He fell back onto his covers and realized that they were wet with sweat. He swept a hand across his forehead and felt the dampness there too. He thought back to what had just happened moments before.

That explained everything. It was just a dream. How was it possible to be back in the hospital? How could Michelle even be there? And how could clones hollow his eyes out? Answer: it was all impossible. So he needn't have to worry about anything.

At the moment.

He decided then and there, he needed to go back and confront Michelle. He'd never have another happy, sleep-filled night again if he didn't face his demons.

Though he had to figure out his game plan in the morning, for now, he was _so_ tired.


	9. Coffee Shop

A/N: Gah, it's been awhile since my last update, so a quick sorry for that. Into the thank yous: Thanks to Asthetic, Bookish, and KD Sparrow for the reviews. And to DamagedGlory for adding my story as an alert. I hope this nice long chapter satisfies everyone. Before Max confronts Michelle, I figured it'd be nice to give you guys some history between them. Just a couple of chapters on their college life so you're in check and understand everything. Review, review, review!

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Nine  
****Coffee Shop  
**"**I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you.  
****Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.  
****I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down,  
****I want to come too.**

**I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop  
****I love so much.  
****All of the while I never knew,  
****I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop  
****I love so much.  
****All of the while I never knew."  
****-Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop, Landon Pigg**

Clarissa and Michelle sat at an outside table complete with wrought iron chairs that twisted to form floral designs, an open pink umbrella to shade them from the sun, and two coffee mugs filled to the brim with each one's favored caffeinated choice. Clarissa took her coffee black, usually because it helped her ease out of a hangover. Michelle knew she was perfectly sober now, but apparently the appeal of the black coffee had crossed over into her regular morning routine. Michelle herself didn't drink coffee; another characteristic about her the others liked to make fun of. They couldn't help but tease her about her wholesomeness and naïve demeanor. But Michelle was anything but. Okay, maybe she didn't like waking up in random Princeton guys' beds, but that didn't mean she didn't know what was going on out there. Living with Clarissa, Nancy, and Joyce, she was fully informed on their shenanigans and flings; she just didn't choose to join them.

"It's called respect for yourself and your bodies, ladies," she told them when they asked one time.

They had just giggled in response and rolled their eyes, gulping down their glasses of wine.

So instead of stirring coffee, like the rest of the customers lounging around them, Michelle was sipping on some hot chocolate.

"Why'd we have to meet here?" Clarissa whined, her eyes hidden behind a pair of large sunglasses that looked exactly like the ones Jackie Kennedy owned.

Michelle sighed. "Why _not_ is the better question."

"Do you think he's going to rape you?" Clarissa asked, trying to see it from Michelle's point of view and failing completely. "Oh, Michelle, you're so young. I can understand that you haven't been with many men before and meeting one up close is a little terrifying, but not all of them are going to want to shove you against a wall and make sweet love to you. Even though that sounds a little hot…"

Michelle laughed into her drink. "I swear, you must've been a horny boy in your former life."

"I don't ever doubt that," Clarissa replied, smirking as well.

"And I'm not afraid of men," Michelle added, pointing her spoon at her friend. "I just want to make that perfectly clear."

"Whatever you say," Clarissa said dismissively.

They sat a little more in silence, taking in the autumn scenery around them. Princeton was particularly beautiful once the leaves began to change color and the sun's rays would dip earlier and earlier into the horizon. People bustling about, to and fro, doing whatever they had to do to get by and the college kids hanging around every bar, café, and restaurant, chatting and doing their assignments. It was all a pretty picture.

Clarissa stared at Michelle, who noticed immediately.

"What?"

"You're not wearing a hat today."

"Uh, thanks, Miss Obvious. That's kinda what we're here for."

"No…I mean, you look nice."

Michelle raised her eyes. "A compliment from Clarissa? Could it be?" She placed her palm against Clarissa's forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine!" she yipped, smacking Michelle's hand away. "I'm not _all_ evil you know."

"Apparently not," Michelle smiled.

"You should wear them less often," Clarissa continued. "Now we all know you aren't hiding a big bald spot or something."

"Such reassurance," Michelle quipped.

"Seriously," Clarissa went on. "You look like such a girl. Maybe someone will actually find you attractive now."

"Thanks, I guess," she replied, unsure on whether that was Clarissa's form of a compliment.

"Welcome," Clarissa wiped at the lipstick around her mouth.

Michelle cradled her round face in her hands, staring off into the distance in thought. At the time, confronting this guy seemed like the right idea, but now she didn't seem as sure. She could, of course, blame her anger which would totally have been a plausible excuse, but Michelle rarely wanted to make excuses for herself. Now that she had dragged Clarissa here, she had no choice but to follow through on her threat and only endure the consequences that were sure to follow. There were a million things she wanted to say to him, most not appropriate in public, the rest would permanently leave her in a state of shame. As much as she would've liked to tell "Max" off, she couldn't bring herself to it. She knew even now, sitting there waiting for him to appear. She liked to tell herself that she'd man up and let out all her aggravation on him for taking her beloved hat, but she just wasn't that type of person. She was known to be pure, quiet, and smart. Blowing off would raise eyebrows and disappoint the people she had strived to impress.

So she had absolutely no clue what to do.

_I guess I'll take it on head on. I mean, how bad can he be?_

On all certainties, Michelle knew that she was bound to hate him, so that was one less problem to worry about.

Clarissa scanned the area once more and all of a sudden her eyes lit up. "He's here!"

Michelle was about to ask where but she needn't have to look any further; Clarissa's loving gaze in his direction was indication enough. A tall, blonde guy their age was strolling casually in their direction, his wispy hair sticking out underneath Michelle's paperboy hat that was propped onto his head.

Michelle rolled her eyes in disgust.

Clarissa, on the other hand, was going completely insane. She raised her arm high in the air, waving as she squirmed in her seat. "Over here! Max! Hey!"

"Pathetic," Michelle grumbled, but Clarissa was too overcome with Max's presence that she ignored her snide comment.

Max spotted them immediately and hustled over. He took the extra seat between the two girls, one practically hyper ventilating and the other paying particular attention to her hot chocolate. "Hello, ladies."

"Hey, Max," Clarissa squealed.

Michelle stared at her from across the table. It was very unlike Clarissa to be all flustered around a guy, but from her account of him the other night and her whimsical expression while telling them about him, Michelle wasn't too surprised.

"So, you're Michelle," he said to her.

She frowned and said nothing, taking a sip from her drink.

"Okay," Max muttered slowly. He turned to Clarissa. "I think I left my shirt in your room."

Clarissa shot him a quizzical look. "What shirt?"

"You know, from that time I came over," He winked obnoxiously, making sure to be extra obvious.

Clarissa suddenly understood. "Oh, _yeah_, now I remember."

"You think you can get it for me?" he asked, scratching his head. Noting that Clarissa hadn't left her seat, he added, "Like, now?"

"N-Now?" she stammered. Picking off her stunner shades and propping them onto her head, she stared at Max incredulously. "But i-it's so far away. I'd have to walk. I don't have a car."

"I kinda need it for something," he told her. When he saw her disbelief he continued with, "Something important. Please?"

Her hazel eyes went to Michelle, who was mouthing silently "NO! NO! NO!" in desperation. Clarissa sighed heavily. "Fine," she answered and began to gather her things despite Michelle's warns to stay put. Michelle shook her head in disappointment.

As she began to walk away, Max called, "Thanks!"

"You've never been over to our dorm," Michelle pointed out quickly once Clarissa was out of earshot.

"Evidently, Clarissa doesn't know that," he told her, still staring after Clarissa's figure. Michelle suddenly felt a pang of guilt. How come she hadn't thought of telling her friend before she had _click clacked_ off back to their dorm? "I wanted us to be alone."

"Why?" Michelle spat. "What can you say in front of me that you can't say in front of her?"

Max shrugged and turned to her. And that was the first time she saw his eyes. The sight of it was so shocking, so beautiful that it took her a few seconds to recover. It definitely wasn't what she had expected of scum. Scum wasn't supposed to have pretty blue eyes.

She squinted at him, her mouth a little open.

"What?" he asked uneasily, not used to girls staring weirdly at him. They were usually preoccupied with something _else_.

"Has anyone ever told you you have _really_ blue eyes?" she asked.

He chuckled but didn't answer.

Michelle shook her head suddenly, trying to clear her mind. There was a reason she was sitting here in this café. "Can I have my hat back?" She said politely, mentally kicking herself for her benevolence. He didn't deserve that.

He fingered the tip of it in contemplation. "Not yet."

"Why the fuck not?" she hissed quietly making sure no one around her heard. She normally wasn't so crude with new people she had just met, but this guy had pissed her off enough. She didn't have time to sit around and play games with him.

"Whoa, calm down. Can we get to know each other a little more before we start cursing at each other?" he replied coolly "I only tolerate profanity from my closest friends and chicks that I've slept with. And seeing that you're neither—not yet, that is—let's keep this conversation civil."

"Civil?" Michelle repeated in exasperation, her impatience surprising even herself. "You call joy riding in your convertible and stealing belongings from innocent girls like me civil?"

"In all fairness," he said, raising his index finger to make his point. "I was drunk."

"Are you now?"

He stopped and thought about it. "Just a little."

Michelle smirked.

"There ya go!" he exclaimed, pointing at her tiny smile. "I knew it was going to come out eventually. I was half expecting fangs to grow, but now I know you're somewhat human."

Michelle giggled in spite of herself.

"So, you good friends with Clarissa?"

Michelle nodded.

"You as crazy as her?" Max asked clearly curious as to the manners of this new girl. She definitely seemed interesting.

Michelle snorted. "No, not at all."

"Really?" he said in amazement, naturally assuming that all Clarissa's girl friends were just as wild as she. "Being friends with someone like her—"

"—we're friends under circumstance," she interrupted to clear things up, not bothering to explain how she and Clarissa were on two completely different ends of the spectrum. "She introduced herself to me on the first day."

"Oh, that explains things…" Max nodded.

"Are you two really together?" she asked not working hard to hide her inquisitiveness. After what she had seen so far, she was a little skeptical.

It was Max's turn to snort. "No."

"Oh." That was all that she needed to say.

"Why, is that what she thinks?" he asked smirking in delight.

She nodded.

He rolled his eyes. "It was like one time…okay more than that…like three times, but that's it. I don't do serious relationships."

"Nope," Michelle shook her head. "You don't seem the type."

"Then we wouldn't work out then?" he asked hopefully.

She laughed. "No, I don't think so."

He shrugged. "Won't stop me from trying."

"Atleast you're honest," she smiled. "There's nothing like winning a girl's heart over by stealing one of her things."

"Touché," he said, grinning. It wasn't everyday that he met a girl who he seriously had a conversation with, and this was definitely a nice change from yelled shouts in late night clubs that usually led to them getting in bed. This Michelle didn't seem like she was interested at all, which was, on one hand, slightly disappointing, but on the other, it peaked his attention.

They remained quiet for a few moments, Michelle taking occasional sips from her slowly emptying mug and Max scratching at his stubble and glancing around at the random passersby.

"You aren't what I expected," Max said abruptly not liking the feeling of silence.

"Neither are you," Michelle replied amiably. Honestly, this meeting had gone completely off course from how she had expected it. Oddly enough, she didn't mind as much as she should've.

"I think like you," he confessed, nodding.

"I can't say the same about you," She simpered. "You still haven't said anything about my hat and Princeton boys have bad reputations."

"What exactly have you heard?" he asked, truly curious.

"They usually take us Evelyn girls to one night flings at the abandoned building around the campus."

Max frowned as he thought about this. Well, he couldn't deny it. He had done it on several occasions.

"That's a generalization you shouldn't make," he told her as maturely as a young man could.

"You haven't exactly done anything to change my mind," She pointed out.

He nodded in accordance. He leaned in and lowered his voice forcing her to bend forward toward him. "Maybe if you give me a chance, I'll change your mind." She gave him a perplexed look then noticed his eyes had fallen to her chest and she gasped. Instinctively, she slapped him across the face. Then, a second later, she realized what she had done and gasped again, this time even louder. Her legs straightened and they brought her to a standing position.

"Not the first time to happen, surprisingly," Max cracked.

Instead of apologizing she whispered, "You are such a perv."

"Yeah, I've gotten that before, too," he said, joining her stand.

She collected her things in a hurry, wanting to take a nice long walk as soon as possible.

"How bout your hat?" he finally asked in an effort to make her stay a little longer.

She shot him an amazed look. "Keep it." She tried to hide her smirk in the throws of her hair, but Max managed to catch a peek at it.

"Are you sure?" he asked, making sure he hadn't misheard. "You seemed pretty serious about this thing over the phone."

"Yeah, just take it," she confirmed, still bustling about. "I wouldn't want it back anyway. Never know what you're carrying."

"Another jab!" he whimpered, clutching his heart.

She shouldered her bag and turned to him fleetingly. "I'm going to go now."

He grinded his teeth together uneasily. "Will I see you again?"

"Not likely," she said, squinting at him over the sun. "But you never know. Princeton isn't a big place; we're bound to see each other again."

"I'm looking forward to that day," he said tipping her hat.

Michelle gulped, and then took off, not exactly sure on what think about what had just happened.


	10. Brutal Honesty

A/N: Sorry for these really long updates! I don't know what it is about the summer but it's made me incredibly lazy. I promise I'll pick up the pace and start writing everyday. That's a tough promise, believe me. Espescially how much I wanna just fall onto my bed and take another nap, but I'll do it. I feel bad that I haven't been updating as quickly as I used to. So I'll try and hold onto that promise. Erm, thanks? As always to my constant reviewer, Bookish. Stated beforehand, summer's made me lazy so sorry for the lack of replies. Also, a hit update. I've reached over 1,200 hits! Not exact number, but it's around there. Thanks for everyone reading, reviewer or otherwise! Seeing all these hits make me just giddy inside. Now, without further ado (or however you spell it, I don't know) here's your chapter. It's another one when Max and Michelle are in college. Thought I'd state that before I got confusion. Just a couple more chapters of them in college then back to the present and the climactic kitchen scene (that's a spoiler, btw, heehee). Stay tuned til then!

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Ten  
****Brutal Honesty  
**"**So I put my arms around you, around you,  
****And I hope that I will do no wrong.  
****My eyes are on you, they're on you,  
****And I hope that you won't hurt me.  
**

**I'm dancing in the room as if I  
****Was in the woods with you.  
****No need for anything but music,  
****Music's the reason why I know time still exists,  
****Time still exists,  
****Time still exists."  
****-Dancing, Elisa**

Immediately, once Michelle and Clarissa had met up again, she had asked profusely how their meeting had gone. Seeing as she never did find Max's shirt, she was still making a mess of their dorm even as Michelle entered. Her hair in a state of disarray, she sat Michelle down for a full blown playback on their conversation. Needless to say, she was highly disappointed. Michelle didn't seem to want to let go of her experience, so she simply said, "He surprised me" and was done with.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clarissa demanded, grabbing her friend's wrists.

She shrugged. "Nothing important happened. I just let him keep the hat."

"After that whole phone call and that walk to the friggin' coffee shop and you let him keep the damn hat?" Clarissa hissed in amazement.

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, I did. Besides, I have a ton of others. One less isn't going to end the world."

"It seemed like it did when you forced me to call him up," Clarissa grumbled childishly.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "I'm exhausted, I'm taking a shower." She got up and left, leaving Clarissa seated on the couch completely confused and frustrated.

Michelle's and Max's paths didn't cross each others for a long while after that encounter. They had little contact since Clarissa began to zip her trap and for once stopped talking about him. While he went out, she stayed in, and if she were to go out, he probably would never be in the same place she was. Clarissa never brought him up again in Michelle's presence and Michelle didn't mind his absence. It was always nice not having someone to distract you. Max, on the other hand, asked about Michelle every once and awhile, but Clarissa seemed to want to avoid the subject and would immediately start making out with him just to push the thought of the other girl out his mind. For the most part, it worked, but there was only so long until his curiosity got to him, and he longed to see her once more.

On a cool, spring night, after hours of dancing and partying, Max and his friends and Clarissa, Joyce, and Nancy gathered together on the street corner before the two parties took off. As Clarissa went to hug Max, he instead side swept her, pulling her to the side. "Bring that Michelle girl the next time you go out."

Clarissa made a face. "But why? She isn't that fun."

Max shrugged. "I wanna say hi. Maybe update her on the current state her hat is in."

Clarissa sighed, preparing to say no, but Nancy barged in on the conversation and agreed to take Michelle along herself. Not wanting to start something in front of the rest of them, Clarissa held in her angry reply for the walk home. She hadn't hesitated on telling Nancy off, but Nancy almost never cared about what she or anyone else said to or about her. So, she let Clarissa steam off for awhile before explaining calmly that it was their rightful duties as friends, dorm mates, and females to help Michelle ease out of her shell and loosen up. Clarissa had pouted during her long lecture but Joyce had seconded Nancy's point and gave up realizing it was a losing battle.

Michelle was in.

"What if I don't want to go?" Michelle chugged down on a beer, a book open on her lap, her legs sprawled across Joyce's lap on the sofa.

"Well, we're just gonna' have to make you then, huh?" Nancy answered, as she played cards with herself.

"You hear that?" Clarissa called from the bathroom. "She doesn't want to come!"

"I didn't say that," Michelle replied, tossing her empty bottle to the side and gesturing for Joyce to hand her another one. "It was just a 'what if' question. I still haven't decided."

Clarissa loudly huffed as she entered the main room, her curlers in her hair.

"He asked for me?" Michelle said out loud, twisting a strand of her black hair around her finger. "Why would he do that? And after so long?"

"Same thing I thought myself," Clarissa smoothed cream onto her face.

"Maybe he's interested," Joyce suggested, her dimpled face lightening up.

They all paused for a second to mull that over and then replied in unison, "Nah."

"Is that paper due tomorrow?" Michelle asked Nancy.

She shook her head.

Michelle shrugged. "Guess I'm free then."

Joyce and Nancy clapped, while Clarissa sighed loudly, a large glob of cream that had stuck to her lip flung off and landed on the carpet. The others rolled with hysterics as she scowled at them, completely negating the work of her facial, though not observing it at the time.

The next day, the four girls met up at a bar at just about the same time Max's crew arrived. They exchanged hellos and hugs, while Michelle stood outside the circle feeling a little out of place.

Max stepped forward and addressed her. "So we meet again."

"Only it wasn't a chance encounter like I wanted," she replied. She snapped her fingers. "Damn."

"Well, we can't always get our way," he said, holding the door open for her. She nodded as she stepped in and he followed after her, letting go of the door, in turn slamming it into Clarissa's side.

The group established themselves at a table but soon everyone had departed to the dance floor where a band was playing and the music was thumping. Michelle took her seat, making sure no other customers would saunter over and take a chair. Max hesitated on leaving her, but she gestured for him to go ahead.

"I'll stay here and get everyone drinks," she shouted as loudly as she could.

He nodded and went off.

The night went by in a blur and the group was rarely all together at one time. They stayed for a moment, drinking and chatting amongst themselves, but then Scott, one of Max's friends, spotted a pretty girl from across the room and got up. And so did the rest of the guys leaving the girls by themselves which just wouldn't do. Nancy and Joyce soon left after they were called over by a small group of men in the corner and Clarissa and Max were easying up somewhere on the dance floor. Michelle was the only one who had stayed put, drinking her beer occasionally, her eyes darting around the premise at all her scattered friends.

Max had somehow broken away from Clarissa and landed into the seat across from Michelle.

"How'd you lose her?" she asked, naturally assuming since the last time she had caught sight of the two they were nose to nose swinging irregularly to a fast song while everyone else was jumping around. Michelle didn't have the imaginative capacity to visualize what they must've been saying to each other nor did she want to.

"She's so drunk at this point, she thinks any random guy that passes by is me," he explained. "I left a poor guy over there with her. I'm sure once she starts kissing him she'll know there's something wrong. There's nothing like the feeling of my soft lips."

"I'll take your word for it," she replied, smiling.

"Or I can always demonstrate. I'm not shy."

"No, thanks," she giggled.

The original crowd was dispersing and the few couples left joined together on the dance floor for one last slow dance. A familiar tune began to play and Michelle perked up.

"I love this song," she told him as she swayed to the music.

"_When the night has come,  
__And the land is dark,  
__And the moon is the only light we'll see."_

"You wanna dance?" he asked her.

She immediately stopped moving and shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't dance."

"But you just said you loved this song," he pointed out.

"_No, I won't be afraid.  
__Oh, I won't be afraid.  
__Just as long as you stand, stand by me."_

"Yeah, but did you notice the entire night my ass was planted on this seat?" she quickly replied.

"It's slow, no one's going to notice if you mess up," he offered.

"I don't know…" she looked around the room hesitantly.

"Oh, c'mon," he said in exasperation. He reached across the table and pulled her forcefully up.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" she hissed as she followed him.

He dragged her into the middle of the swinging crowd and situated her in front of him. He pulled her arms around his neck and slowly eased his hands down them, feeling the Goosebumps he was leaving behind at his touch. After he had reached her elbows and they're bodies were slowly coming together, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"_So, darling, darling  
__Stand by me  
__Oh, stand by me  
__Oh, stand  
__Stand by me  
__Stand by me."_

"See," he whispered. "Not so bad."

"You better keep your hands where they are," she commanded.

"Don't worry, I will," he replied superficially. He heard her swallow loudly. "Did I tell you you look nice tonight?"

Her eyes drifted towards her purple dress. "Thanks?"

"Do you always match your hats with your outfits?" he gazed up at the purple woven hat on her head.

She nodded.

"_If the sky that we look upon  
__Should tumble and fall  
__Or the mountains should crumble to the sea"_

She felt a little obligated to say something nice back to him, so she racked her head to find a suitable compliment. "Did I already tell you that you have pretty, blue eyes?"

He smirked. "Yeah, I think you might've mentioned it."

She nodded awkwardly. "Well…yeah, you do."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Maybe we should just be quiet."

She agreed. "Yeah, I think all this nervous talking is killing the mood."

"_I won't cry, I won't cry  
__No, I won't shed a tear  
__Just as long as you stand, stand by me."_

She sighed and subconsciously moved closer into him in the process. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he noticed this. He could feel her breathing against him, the rise and fall of her chest, and the loud heartbeat of his own hammering organ. He wondered if she could feel him too, the way they were dancing. He wouldn't have doubted it; he just hoped that she didn't find it uncomfortable. His fears were soon dispelled once she laid her head against his shoulder and her arms grew stronger around his neck. He hadn't counted on her to make such a drastic move; after all, she had sat at the table all night while everyone else was working the room. He would never have guessed that she would be the first to make a bold step. But here she was, in his arms, their bodies almost one, and at slow rotation to the music. It was almost perfect.

"_And, darling, darling  
__Stand by me  
__Oh, stand by me  
__Oh, stand  
__Stand by me  
__Stand by me."_

Until Michelle caught Clarissa looking at them from her seat on the bar. It was a look of jealousy and betrayal. _Of course_, how could Michelle be so inconsiderate? Clarissa had been fawning over Max for the longest time, and now here she was dancing so intimately with him. But it hadn't meant anything. Though, that wasn't how Clarissa was seeing it from her spot. A pang of guilt struck Michelle's conscience and suddenly what had at first felt so right, now felt terribly wrong. She let go of Max's grasp.

"Can we get some air?" she asked, a little out of breath.

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed swiftly as he followed her out.

They stepped out into the night and were caught in a sudden unnatural breeze. Michelle's dress flowed in the most graceful way and Max couldn't help but stare.

"Max, I wanna' make something clear," she told him, leaning against the building's brick wall. "That didn't mean anything."

"That?" he chuckled. "What are you talking about?"

"You _know_ what I'm talking about!" she said impatiently. "I hardly know you and Clarissa's known you for a long time and—"

"Oh, so this is about her?" he interrupted.

Michelle sighed. "Wait, let me finish."

"Fine."

"What happened in there, that 'dancing', it was just that, a dance," she continued, a little out of breath and at a slight loss of her words. He could tell she was struggling. "I don't want you thinking anything or getting ideas because I don't want any miscommunication between us—"

He let out a large breath that stopped her words.

"Max, I may be a little naïve and a little conservative, but I'm not stupid," she said, her voice considerably lower. She bit her lip. "Don't lie to me and tell me you didn't feel something back there. I know you did."

"And didn't you?" he accused, faintly helpless and little desperate to hold onto the right words.

"The truth is," she stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm not interested in you. I mean, you're a nice guy, it was really sweet of you inviting me tonight, but I can only see us being friends."

Max nodded, pacing in front of her. Never in his life had he encountered someone so difficult. "Yeah, I understand."

"I'm sorry," she said, staring at her shoes.

_No you're not_, he thought. But he was. How incredibly stupid had he been to fall for some goody two shoes girl? He should've known from the start that it was never meant to be and now with his idiocy, he had to add a little heartbreak to that.

She was the first girl that had ever rejected him even before he had asked. For that, she was someone special. Just because they couldn't be together in a relationship, didn't mean they had to be completely cut off from each other.

And it appeared she had read his mind as well. "We can always be friends, Max." She stopped and snorted. "I mean, if having a friend that's a girl's okay with you?"

He took a spot next to her against the wall. "Why wouldn't it be?"

She shrugged. "Some guys have a masculinity problem. I think they call it a huge ego."

"Well luckily for me, I don't need a huge ego to compensate for anything, so you being my friend is…all right."

"Did I sense a little hesitation there?" she asked, beaming his way.

He shook his head dramatically. "No, not at all."


	11. In Bloom

A/N: Yeah, I know, Mango's back from the grave. I feel so guilty for not updating for weeks now and I honestly have no excuse, which makes me feel worse. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. I've read it over numerous times and it still seems a little fluffy to me, which isn't bad but not necessarily good. I mean, I'm not into fluff, but if it works, it works. Okay, onto my thanks. To Bookish as always, Girllyingbythesea for the favorites add, and to everyone for reading in general. I'm up to over 1,450 hits now and counting. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Now, enjoy.

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Eleven  
****In Bloom  
**"**I'm used to opening my opening my own doors  
****And splittin' the checks.  
****He introduced me,  
****Was always just the friend.  
****I bought a new dress,  
****He never noticed.**

**Always fallin' for these bad boys,  
****Such a challenge.  
****I'm getting tired  
****Of cleaning up after them.  
****I think I'm ready to be a woman.  
****Oh love, I think I'm ready,  
****Ready for it."**

**-I Think I'm Ready, Katy Perry**

Despite Michelle's brutal honesty about their relationship, the two's friendship blossomed so quickly, in fact, that their original best friends were beginning to feel left out. Max with a different girl every two days would ride his convertible across town, sneak onto the Evelyn campus, climb a tree, and swing onto the girls' balcony. He'd tap on the window lightly as to not incite the neighboring dormers and Michelle would soon come running to his call. They'd sit and talk about all the girls he'd bag, the girls he had just bagged, and the girls he would bag. Mostly Max talked and Michelle listened, occasionally laughing and giving in her opinion, but the company was nice and they enjoyed each other. Of course, men weren't allowed on campus, so Max had to time his visits wisely. After the first three times, he had figured out what time the campus was most quiet, which path was the quickest and safest, and what branches were sturdy enough to hold him. The other girls rooming with Michelle didn't mind Max's visits. They dismissed them as normal after awhile and would walk past the window waving or greeting him hello. The only person who seemed to have a true problem with the secret visits was Clarissa. Although they never were official, she seemed to want to hold onto Max all herself.

"She's a little aggressive," Michelle offered one night he had come over.

"I would know," he muttered, running his finger up and down the balcony's bars.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Augh, please, spare me."

"Don't worry, I wasn't about to go into detail," he assured her. "I mean, unless you want me to."

"No, thanks," she muttered stiffly as she wrote something down in her book.

Max could come over whenever he wanted to talk about his problems and happiness and Michelle in turn would put forward her hospitality and good listening skills. Occasionally, it would be Max's turn to listen whenever she had something to say, and he accepted his role well. The two were as close as peas in a pod; as close as best friends could be without being intimate, that is. That wasn't to say that there wasn't any sexual tension between them. Max would constantly joke about how nice the two would be together as a couple or how he would be her first.

She burst out laughing at the latter suggestion. "Fat chance!" she snickered. "I think I'm classier than that."

Max had just scowled at her response but didn't push the subject case his pride died a little more.

Max's girls came and went, but Michelle was always there to pay attention whenever he had to rag on one of his ex's. She was a very good moderator and was able to see both sides of the story. Soon they came to do everything together: drink, smoke, and get high were the main things. And they enjoyed each and every second they were together.

But soon college began to weigh heavy on them. More work had to be done and there was less time for idle chit chat and late night visits. The trips lessened and lessened and soon they came between weeks at a time. Michelle definitely began to notice, but she decided not to say anything. She blamed it on school. She had heard he had dropped another course, _again_. She didn't need to distract him during this vital time in his college career. Princeton was expensive. And so was Evelyn. About 90 percent of the population of girls were either related to the faculty members or were sisters of Princeton students; meaning they were shoe ins. She was of the few who actually had to work hard to stay in. Not coming from a very wealthy background, she had to pay close attention to her studies more than everyone else. So she soon overlooked the fact that she was seeing Max a whole lot less.

Then her nineteenth birthday came around and she was hoping he'd make an appearance. But the entire day was Max free and she just had to go on since the world continued to turn despite the fact you had grown one year older. On her birthday night, the girls had left her alone in the dorm to purchase beer, food, and other necessities girls needed. They told her that it'd just be a couple of minutes and that they'd be back to celebrate in no time.

She didn't mind them leaving; it was nice to have the whole dorm room to herself.

She propped herself on the couch and comfied herself up, pushing the pillows around her. Just as she was getting rested, a sudden rapping filled the still air. She immediately sat up and turned to the balcony window.

"It's open!" she called.

Max nodded then opened it. He stepped inside with an incredibly huge grin on his face. He vaulted over the couch and landed perfectly right next to her, causing her to jump up a bit due to his landing.

"I have your gift," he told her, still beaming.

"You drove all the way across town to give me my gift?" she asked in shock.

He nodded, evidently proud of himself.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Oh, but I _did_," he swiftly replied. "Okay, now close your eyes."

She raised her eyes at him in suspicion.

"C'mon just do it. And hold out your hands," he commanded.

With a roll of the eyes, she finally obliged and did as she was told. She wriggled her fingers in anticipation until she felt the tingle of something falling onto her open palms.

"Okay, now open them."

This time she followed his orders without hesitation. There lying in her hands was a tiny gold locket that was laced upon a shining chain. Michelle's eyes widened, she took a sharp inhalation of breath, and she sat there speechless taking it all in at once.

"Max," she breathed gently. "It's beautiful."

"You didn't look inside yet," he hinted.

She opened it up and found a picture of herself and another of Max smiling cheekily. She recovered from her initial stunned stupor and smirked. "Who said I wanted a picture of you in here?"

"You're keeping that picture," he told her firmly. "I took me forever to find the right size and even longer to cut it perfectly."

Michelle grinned widely, her eye twinkling. "This was really thoughtful of you."

He shrugged, trying to seem aloof. "Yeah, well…it was nothing."

She slapped his shoulder. "Didn't know you had it in you, Carrigan."

"I'm hurt, Michelle," he replied, clutching his attacked shoulder. "You've known me long enough; I thought you would've known me well by now."

She fingered the locket. "Obviously not."

"Here, I'll put it on you," he said, taking the necklace from her hand.

She lifted up her black hair to keep her neck free then realized something. "How are you going to do this when you're sittin' in front of me?"

He waved his fingers and hands before her face. "These are magic hands, 'Chelle."

She rolled her eyes as she tittered. She leaned her neck forward and he wound the necklace around it. After a few moments, she heard a _click_ and knew it was locked. He traced the outline of his gift as he brought his hands back around to the front, touching her skin ever so slightly. Michelle swallowed loudly as she felt him do this. He ended by tapping the locket in approval.

"It looks good on you," he said, staring at it.

"My eyes are up here, Max," Michelle laughed as she snapped in front of his face to get his attention. "But seriously, thanks."

"Nothing but the best for my best," he replied calmly.

Her shoulders eased up. She opened her arms indicating a hug. He understood and inclined towards her.

"I meant a hug, not a kiss you perv!" she squealed as he zoned in on her face.

"That's what I was doing!" he shot back defensively.

They embraced, her arms entwining around his neck and his around her thin waist. She breathed in his distinct cologne and he took in her hair's sweet aroma. And despite all that they had gone through and how many times Michelle had shot down his ideas of them jumping into bed, they didn't seem to want to let go. They sat there together waiting for the other to make the first move, problem was, neither wanted the moment to end. Without words, they both understood that this was what they had wanted all along.

But it wasn't meant to be because Max was Max and Michelle was Michelle and people had expectations of them. They had standards for themselves and getting together just wouldn't be right. Atleast, that's what they told themselves.

Michelle sighed into his hair, not sure what to do with herself anymore.

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to worry much longer.

Nancy burst through the door carrying an overstuffed paper bag, screaming, "Let's party!" She stopped when she realized what she was seeing. "Am I interrupting something?"

At the first sounds of the others approaching, Michelle and Max had separated immediately, looking very vulnerable and guilty.

Michelle shook her head. "Nope, not at all."

Nancy winked as she headed to the coat rack. Joyce came in after her with a huge grin on her face, practically shining from the scene they had stumbled upon. Clarissa was last and was sporting a disgusted look.

Max jumped up. "Well, I think I overstayed my visit." He turned to Michelle. "Happy birthday." He leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek. He waved at the rest of them as he headed out the open window.

Michelle was smiling slightly after his departure, staring longingly through the balcony where Max once was. Joyce plopped down beside her, taking Max's spot. She noticed the new locket at once and reached out to touch it. Her eyes widened with awe as she stroked the pretty thing with her fingers. "Where'd you get this?"

Michelle's smiled widened. "Max gave it to me."

Clarissa placed her hands on her hips. "Wait, you're tellin' me that he drove _all_ the way across town to give you your gift?"

Michelle nodded. "Yeah."

"He never did that for me," she huffed, falling down onto a chair.

Nancy unloaded the shopping bag, placing a beer in front of each girl. "You two seemed a little hot and heavy in here when we walked in."

"It was nothing," Michelle replied, grabbing her beer and popping it open. "Just a hug. You know, that's that thing that friends do to each other to express their happiness and gratitude."

"Yeah, yeah, we got it," Nancy rolled her eyes.

Joyce raised her bottle in the air. "Let's toast. To Michelle and one more year until you're finally twenty."

The girls _clinked_ their bottles together and chugged to that.


	12. A High Stupor

A/N: Well, hellooo, readers. I think it's about time to give you all a nice update. My thank yous first. Thanks to HandStainedRed and TakeMeorLeaveMe for the story alert adds, TakeMeorLeaveMe for the author alert add, and TakeMeorLeaveMe once again for all the pretty lil reviews you've left me. Well, about this chapter. I tried to remain true to Max as possible and I think I've done it pretty well so far, but in this one he seems a little outta character, if ya know what I mean. I'm a little nervous for it, but I hope you like it all the same. If you think I totally screwed Max up, lemme know in a review. If you liked the chapter and thought it was okay, leave me a review. In other words, leave a review anyway you like it. As I said before, feedback drives me. Thanks again for all the hits I've been getting! Enjoy.

* * *

**My Belle  
****Chapter Twelve  
****A High Stupor  
**"**You were such a surprise,  
****An unexpected gift.  
****Said I was pretty, and I believed it.  
****Not really used to all this attention.  
****Told myself I don't deserve you  
****And this is just a phase.  
****Could I get used to, being loved the right way?  
****I wanna argue, but there is nothing to say.**

**Oh love, I think I'm ready,  
****Ready for it.  
****Ready for it  
****Oh love, I think I'm ready."  
****-I Think I'm Ready, Katy Perry**

Max's quick and sudden departure was nothing new to his three other dorm buddies; ever since he had met Michelle it was a regular occurrence. Michelle was all right, but seeing their friend sneak out at ungodly hours in the night was a little worrying. He had never done this for any other girl and now she comes along and he's all of a sudden going out of his way to do things for her. They could understand the first few times he had run out; the girl was a knockout. They had just naturally assumed that something sexual was going on, but when Max had explained that she was his go to girl, they had wrinkled their faces in disgust. Max ditched them to _talk_ with her? _To talk_? It was unheard of and completely unacceptable, but Max never did listen to them and it was no use arguing with him over it. So, eventually they got used to it, letting him go off without any complaint.

When they noticed his nightly visits were beginning to lessen, they were quick to consent. Any sign of him balling up and returning to his original manliness was always okay with them. And if that meant less time with Michelle, so be it. Soon Max was partying with them like the old times and Michelle seemed to be permanently out of the picture.

So when he announced one evening he was heading out on one of his escapades, they received this news with shock.

"You're still friends with her?" Scott asked, his chin nearly touching the ground.

Max made a confused face. "Uh, yes."

"We just thought, that since you haven't been seeing her lately, that maybe it was over," Vince explained, equally as stunned but wasn't as obvious showing it as Scott.

"Well, that's a stupid thing to think," Max retorted as he grabbed his coat.

"Why're you seeing her tonight?" Chris asked as he lit up.

"It's her birthday."

The other three groaned loudly.

"Shuddup," he snapped and was out the door.

When he had returned an hour later, they still weren't ready to drop the subject. They were sprawled on the couch, seriously high and almost drunk. It didn't matter, because either way they weren't about to get up or make any sense.

"Max is back!" Scott slurred lifting his beer and shaking it in his direction.

The other two greeted him with a hello that was indistinguishable due to their state. He nodded at them as he hung up his things.

"What'd you get her?" Chris asked, rolling off the couch.

"None of your damn business," Max replied, sitting into a vacant chair and staring at his oddly arranged friends.

"Dude, you are seriously whipped if you went all the way out there just to give some broad a gift," Vince muttered.

"Maybe I am," Max sighed, comfying himself into the cushions.

The others exchanged glances but didn't say anything.

* * *

Their meeting on Michelle's birthday did little to worsen their friendship. Strangely enough, they seemed to see more of each other afterwards, a nice adjustment to their increasingly thin relationship. This time, Max didn't have to sneak in past midnight to speak with her anymore. They'd meet after class, drive off in his convertible, and probably get high somewhere. They're favorite spot would be Carnegie Lake, a quick drive from the Princeton campus. There they would rent a boat and float around the waters, watching the Princeton boys paddle by them and other students jog past. Occasionally one would call out a greeting to Max and would eye Michelle curiously.

"You're popular," she said one time after a whole boatful of people yelled at them as they rowed by. She stuck an unlit cigarette between her teeth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"You should see me when I'm around the ladies," he replied, grinning mischievously.

"I could imagine," she sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees and laying her head upon them. "Did you see the way they were looking at me?"

"They're just horny, don't worry," he assured her. "And if they ever do try something, they can always answer to me."

Michelle cackled loudly. "No! I think they thought we were _together_."

Max raised his eyes.

"They took one look at me here with you and they turned around and began whispering," she said.

"You should be flattered!" he replied, lighting up a cigarette in contrast to her unlit one. "There would be girls dying to be in that position."

She rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself."

She leaned a little to the left and her locket shined in the sun. He stared at it fondly. "You're wearing it."

She nodded. "Yup." She touched it lightly then looked up at him. "Summer's coming soon."

"And?" he muttered, pulling the oars out of the water.

"We're gonna be apart for three months."

His blue eyes locked with hers. "How are you gonna take it?"

She smiled. "I'm going to take it fine; it's you I'm worrying about. How are you going to handle not being able to talk to me about all the girls you've slept with? I'm sure it's going to be torture."

"You have a point," he replied. "I mean there's always my sister—"

"_Right_."

He scowled at her. "We can always meet up."

"It's like a two hour drive," she reminded him.

"Somewhere in the middle?"

"I don't have a car, remember."

Max sighed. "Do you like making things hard for me?"

She shrugged. "It's a little entertaining, yeah."

He shook his head, smiling. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Oh, you'll be fine," she said. "The summer will fly by and we'll be up to our shenanigans in no time. And then pretty soon it'll be my birthday all over again. You have all this time in between to figure out how you'll top this." She tapped her locket.

"Perfect, because there's nothing I like better than thinking up ways to please you," he mumbled sarcastically.

"Okay, now that's flattering," she laughed.

* * *

Summer wasn't bad, just as Michelle had promised, and soon the world returned to the regular flow of things. Max went back to Princeton, Lucy went back to high school, the birds sang in the trees, the leaves fell from their perches, and the world was right. But at the same time it wasn't. Max had had the position of alluring playboy bachelor at Princeton for a long time, but suddenly it wasn't as appealing as before. Whenever he was with someone else, despite the confines of his booze and pot, his mind began to drift to a certain hat loving someone. He couldn't understand why, for this never happened before. Sure, he had felt attraction to Michelle for a long time, but never like that. Michelle was just Michelle and nothing more than that. He had his friends and his girls and Michelle had fallen into the former category. She was off limits. But for some reason he was feeling more longing towards her. It didn't help that she seemed to be avoiding him. He'd call her room and either Joyce or Nancy would pick and tell him she was too busy. And whenever she did happen to answer, she always made a flustered excuse to hang up. For awhile Max thought he had done something wrong, but his friends quickly destroyed that thought. They had noticed Max's current slump and had forced him to forget about Michelle for the time being.

Little did he know that Michelle had a couple conflicting feelings herself.

The inner toil within both of them was soon ringing in their ears, regardless of the amount of drinks they took down, the late night partying they did, the drugs they inserted into their bodies, and the people they hooked up with (more so Max than Michelle). Subconsciously, they had tried to drown the thought of the other with college and life. Feelings for one another were too much to take and a simple way out was forgetting. But had it worked? Their efforts seemed to be working, but they still longed to meet again. Typical clichés weren't their style and the best friends getting together was one of the most clichéd clichés of them all.

Max's desires were starting to get to him and he felt that if he didn't say something her soon, things would never be right.

The weeks passed and soon her birthday was around the corner. They were obliged to meet up again soon and so they did, on mutual agreement. Somewhere between her busy school schedule and his partying nights, they squeezed in an hour to meet up at Carnegie Lake.

There was no time like the present and if Max wanted to tell her, now was better than ever.

* * *

They laid side by side together on the grass, passing a joint between them, staring up at the high afternoon sun. It was early October so the days were still warm though autumn was slowly creeping up on them. Michelle had wound a thin scarf around her neck and it shuffled slightly as the wind passed above them. Max sighed loudly as he placed his arms behind his head, his forehead creased in thought, scowling heavily at the blue sky.

"Dude, do you see those colors?" Michelle piped up, staring up at the clouds.

Max nodded silently.

"That's fucking crazy," she continued in a daze. She began to giggle and jabbed at his chest. "C'mon, Max, laugh. It's hilarious."

But he remained quiet.

"I see the pot is taking a different path with you," she said as serious as she could before busting into a fit of laughter. She continued to roll around with mirth until she began to calm down, slowly but surely. "Guess what tomorrow is."

"I hate guessing," he muttered.

"Please!"

"No."

"Augh, fine," she moaned. "You're no fun. It's my birthday! You didn't forget, did you?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Have something all planned for me?"

"I think they call it a surprise, Michelle, so you can calm down for the time being," he replied swiftly. "The girls doing anything for you?"

She scratched her chin. "I suppose they are. Every time I walk into the room they're always whispering and once they notice me, they get all smiley and are quick to change the subject. I mean, how obvious can you get?"

Max remained quiet, not knowing how to answer that.

She looked over at him intently, wondering why he wasn't his usual talkative self. "Haven't been with a _broad_ lately? Cheer up, Maxie. I'm sure someone will take pity on a pathetic bachelor like yourself."

He shook his head again. "No, it's not that…it's just…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

And being in her high stupor, she dropped the subject.

"You planning on going out tomorrow?" he asked.

It was her turn to shake her head. "Nope. I've got an exams to take and papers that have to be handed in. I think I'll have to pull an all nighter on my first night being twenty."

"That sucks," Max murmured.

"Damn these stupid colors." She blinked up at the sky, trying to shoo them away.

Max took a deep breath. The opportunity was slipping from him as he noticed the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, like an ominous ticking clock reminding him how little time he had left. "I have something to tell you, too."

She suddenly got excited. "Oooh, what?"

Max turned and leaned over her. "Guess."

She screwed her face up in concentration. "Does it have to do with school?"

"No."

"Your parents?"

"No."

"Are you having serious emotional issues?"

"Yes," he said triumphantly assuming she had gotten it.

"Is it about Clarissa?" she blurted out getting an odd look from Max. Before he could correct her, she began to drabble. "I knew it! You know, she's waiting for a proposal any day now. You should really put the girl out of her misery. And you're rich, so a ring wouldn't be that expensive. I'll even help you pick one out. I'm a girl, obviously, and I think I have an idea what she wants. Probably a nice big one that shines in the sun—"

"I wasn't talking about Clarissa," he slurred, interrupting her.

Her eyes filled with confusion. "You're not? I was _totally_ sure. Wait, give me a hint."

Without a moment's hesitation, he reached out a hand to touch her locket. He traced the outline of the necklace, touching her skin lightly in the process. He then began to move his hand down towards the outline of her shirt, down her heaving chest, and he just stopped short of her cleavage before she gulped loudly. He locked eyes with her and they sat there in a breathless still.

He swallowed loudly breaking the awkward silence. "I know this is going to sound cliché and generic, but I've rehearsed all the possible scenarios in my head and this seems to be the best one. And I don't think you should interrupt; just listen," he whispered. "Michelle, I can't stop thinking about you. You're the first thing that enters my mind each morning and the last thought I think before I fall asleep. When I'm with the guys I'm wondering what you're doing and with another girl in bed I want _her_ to be _you_. I knew from the moment I took your hat that you were going to be different from the rest of them. You never did anything whenever I hit on you and you'd laugh in my face if I even suggested sleeping together thinking I was joking. I don't want to be your best friend anymore; I can't stand thinking that I'll never be more than that. And I know you've felt it too—"

"You're right. That was _really_ cliché and generic," she cut him off. He watched her closely as the words sunk in, examining her reaction intently. She pursed her lips in thought and examined the passing clouds behind his head. She took a deep breath and finally said, "Max—"

He didn't let her finish. He took the plunge, leaning closer and closer onto her, feeling her warm breath blow across his face, her chest pressing into his, and her eyes baring into his own. This was the moment he had been waiting for since he had first laid eyes on her. The intensity of the situation was carrying him away, making his mind drift off, his thoughts leave him. All he was focused on was her and only her. And she would've let herself be taken by him too, she honestly would've, but her mind came back to her and kicked her ass out of the dream. She suddenly realized where she was: reality. And her kissing Max at that exact moment was impossible if she was living in reality. So she gasped and turned her face away, leaving him hanging. He realized what had just happened and quickly moved himself off of her. Suddenly it felt so wrong.

Michelle scrambled to her feet, gathering her things around her in a hurry. "Sorry, I have that…thing…to do." She shot one last glance at Max who was avoiding her gaze. "I-I'll see you around."

He nodded solemnly, squinting up at the setting sun.

She bit her lip and sprinted away, not wanting to leave him behind, but at the same time wanting to get as far away as possible.


End file.
